Disabled Partnering Increased

being denied police to bounty to

their basic reduce crime curb illegal
rights p6 p 12 & 13
banners p
8

community May 13 — 15, 2011/ issue 24

Mild improvement in air quality

after yesterday's evening shower.
Inset picture was taken on
Wednesday afternoon. Story on
Page 2.

Tussle over bridal biz

By Gan Pei Ling

PETALING JAYA: Legalising

SS2's unlicensed bridal shops
could boost the industry here, but
some residents are far from keen
to see more wedding dresses in
what was once their neighbours' leries and studios, become a top a lot of noise and dust pollution,” a few years to convert the land status around two years for the city coun-
homes. bridal centre equalling Jalan Ipoh in said Cheong. of the three main streets from resi- cil to change the street’s status of
Apart from the bridal galleries on Kuala Lumpur. He added that an ongoing survey dential to limited commercial, SS2/24 in the local plan in 2008 to
Jalan SS2/24, the rest of the shops He has proposed to the mayor to conducted by the Town Planning MBPJ should issue temporary busi- “limited commercial”.
along three other main streets sur- legalise the shops by converting the Department since April revealed ness permits to the shopowners so The process may be delayed fur-
rounding SS2’s commercial centre three main streets into “limited that most property owners do not that they can continue operating ther should there be opposition
are unlicensed as they have yet to commercial” areas under a special stay in the houses, but rent them out during the legal process. from SS2 residents.
convert their residential land status area plan of the PJ Local Plan. to residential or commercial tenants. He said usually the landlord must Currently, property owners could
into commercial use. “These houses are no longer suit- “The landlords enjoy higher convert the property to commercial face a fine of between RM10,000
Councillor Tony Cheong is able for residential use. The roads rental rates if they lease the houses before the business operator can and RM15,000 for renting out resi-
among advocates who want to1 see5/6/11
LB_246384_Sun_m14.ai
( Jalan SS2/55, Jalan SS2/72 and
11:01 PM
to business tenants,” Cheong said. apply and secure a business licence. dential units for commercial use.
SS2, which has 30 such shops, gal- Jalan SS2/75) are busy and there is Cheong said since it would take Cheong noted that it had taken • Turn to page 6
2
news
May 13 — 15, 2011

API improves
after showers Action against
By Basil Foo

shah alam: After several days of hazy conditions and

deteriorating air quality, the air pollutant index saw a mild drop
after yesterday’s evening shower.
According to the monitoring of air quality carried out by
the Department of Environment (DOE) at 5pm Thursday, Port
Klang citizens can now breathe a little easier.
Port Klang recorded an “unhealthy” level; with its air pol-
lutant index (API) reaching 104 at 11am Thursday, but was
reduced to an API of 99 after a downpour in the afternoon.
API numbers also fell across the other four areas recorded
for Selangor by DOE with Kuala Selangor and Petaling Jaya
recording the largest drop from 85 to 76 and 82 to 73 respec-
tively.
However, the API for Banting (94) and Shah Alam (84)
only saw a minor fall of two points.
Air quality is considered “good” by the DOE if its API
levels are below 51, “moderate” if between 51-100, “unhealthy”
if 101-200, “very unhealthy” if 201-300, and “hazardous” if
above 300.
Twenty-one other monitoring stations throughout the
country also recorded “good” quality of air at that time while
31 areas recorded “moderate” quality.
Meanwhile, DOE has advised the public against conducting
open burning to not aggravate the haze situation which has
worsened recently.
“Although there has been a dry spell, the public should not
take this as an opportunity to conduct open burning,” said
Selangor DOE director Datin Paduka Che Asmah Ibrahim
yesterday.
Che Asmah added that there were no major burnings in the
state which contributed to the haze, but said there were minor
one here and there.
encroaching ‘settlers’
By Alvin Yap
shah alam: Selangor will name
and shame individuals who have ob-
tained Temporary Occupational Li-
cences (TOL) and encroached on the
Bukit Tarek forest reserve in Ulu Selan-
gor.
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said many of
those who were given the TOL titles in
Kampung Keradang are not even stay-
ing there, but have rented out the land
to third parties for the purpose of turn-
ing it into plantations.
“The land in the village is part of [the
forest reserve], but the previous admin-
istration had closed one eye and issued
TOL titles on the pretext that it was
only temporary,” said the Menteri Besar
in a press release on Tuesday.
In October 2010, Hulu Selangor
district officers reported the encroach-
ment of some 8,000ha of the Rantau
Panjang and Bukit Tarek forest re-
serves.
The state executive council then
decided to ban any form of develop-
ment in the area.
Khalid said TOL holders are not
settlers, and would not be deprived of
housing if the state were to demolish
their settlement.
He said certain parties were taking
advantage of state policy that ensures
every resident has the right to own land.
But he pointed out that the Kam-
pung Keradang issue involved land
misuse and serious encroachment of a
forest reserve.
He added that the settlement and the
oil palm plantations were having a
negative effect on water catchment in
the area.
“We will not compromise with those
who encroach on the forest reserve or
cause damage to the water catchment
there,” he said.
Khalid said the state has decided to
draw the village boundary next to the
forest reserve, and also study the extent
of encroachment.
But he said the state would not de-
molish genuine homes.
The state is also planning to meet the
genuine settlers to resolve the issue.
“They will not be thrown out of their
homes,” he said.
He also said the state has issued
more than 100,000 land grants to TOL
holders who have occupied land there
for more than 15 years.
“This is provided they follow the law
on land use,” he said.

To place your Advert in

Contact Timothy Loh 019-2674488,

Ivan Looi 014-9366698,
or Vincent Boon 012-8902033
Selangor WEATHER
Friday Saturday Sunday

Morning

Afternoon
(From left) MBPJ councillors Richard Yeoh, Terence Tan, Khairul and Cynthia Gabriel (third from right), and
Gurmit (centre) during the launch of the Green Personality Award.

Night PJ looking for ‘Green Personality’

PETALING JAYA: If you practise environmental sustain- see carbon emission levels reduced in the city in two to three
Source: Malaysian meteorological department ability and care for the conservation of a greener city, you years’ time.
could be the one Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is look- Nomination forms are available online from MBPJ’s
ing for. website or at its office here in New Town.
“MBPJ wants to honour the person who cares for the Environmental activist Gurmit Singh praised the council
environment and creates awareness about it,” said councillor for acknowledging the importance of environmental sustain-
phone (603) 5510 4566
Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainudin at the launch of the Green ability and conservation.
fax (603) 5523 1188 Personality Award. “Petaling Jaya is the first city to give an award to someone
email editor@selangortimes.com The person need not be a “guru” of green technology, but who cares and protects the environment. We appreciate that
a simple practitioner of green habits daily, he said. very much,” he said.
EDITORIAL “The nominee could be a housewife who uses natural MBPJ planning and development head Noraini Roslan
CHIEF EDITOR KL Chan compost for fertilisers, and teaches and motivates others in said the council was embarking on lowering “carbon foot-
COMMUNITY EDITOR Neville Spykerman the neighbourhood to do the same,” he said on Wednesday. print” in the city.
WRITERS Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling, The winner will receive a plaque, certificate and RM2,000. She said the award should inspire ratepayers to get involved
Basil Foo, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan, Brenda Ch’ng Nominations opened on Wednesday and will close on June in caring for the environment.
COPY EDITORS Nick Choo, James Ang 10. Noraini pointed out that Petaling Jaya would always grow,
DESIGNERS Jimmy C. S. Lim, Chin Man Yen The winner will be announced in the first week of July. but environmental damage could be lessened by residents
ADVERTISING Timothy Loh, Ivan Looi The award is organised by the Green Team City Petaling who do their part to practise sustainable living.
ADVISORS Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz Jaya committee chaired by Khairul. “Recycling, installing simple water catchment and also
The newly-formed committee will oversee plans that will using natural fertilisers are all sustainable living,” she added.
SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ MAY 13 – 15, 2011 ⁄ 3
4
news
May 13 — 15, 2011
Events
Career wear sale
Metrojaya Mid Valley is having a career wear
promotion this month. The promotion began
yesterday (May 12) and will end on May 22.
Shoppers will receive free vouchers worth
RM30 with every purchase of RM150 from
participating career wear brands. Shoppers
who spend RM100 and above in a single
receipt from now till June 30 will also stand a
chance to win Malaysia’s first lithium-powered
electric bicycle. For more information, contact
customer service at 1 800 88 8865, or visit
www.metrojaya.com.my.
Charity fun fair
Junior Chamber International Petaling Jaya
(JCIPJ) will be having a hot air balloon fun fair
to raise funds for leukemia patients. The event
will be held tomorrow (May 14) from 8am to
noon at Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya. Among
the activities will be hot air balloon rides, free
health checks and a photo contest. For more
information, call 012-311 2559 (Nurul-Huda),
or e-mail jcnurul@gmail.com, or visit www.
jcipj.org.
Sendai fundraiser
Loyar Buruk and JuneWow will hold a
fundraiser for tsunami-hit Sendai on
Sunday (May 15) at Pusat Rakyat Loyar
Burok. Among the highlights are a photo
exhibition and a concert titled “Sending
Love to Sendai”, which start at 5pm. Other
activities include lucky draws, origami and
Japanese calligraphy, sumo wrestling and
haiku writing. Admission is free. For details,
visit www.junewow.com.
Fashion high tea
Get a free makeover compete with a giant
high tea photo shoot set this month at
Sunway Pyramid. The shopping centre will
be celebrating May Fashion Month with the
theme “High Fashion High Tea”. Stand a
chance to go on a RM20 000 shopping spree
by spending RM100 in a single receipt from
May 6-19. To get the complete free makeover,
spend RM300 or more in a maximum of
three accumulated receipts. Shoppers can
also enjoy high tea at selected outlets along
with a preview of the latest fashion. For more
information, contact Sunway Pyramid at 03-
74943100 or visit www.sunwaypyramid.com.
Wesak candlelight procession
Klang Ti-Ratana Buddhist Society will hold
a candlelight procession in conjunction with
Wesak on May 16 at 7pm. Everyone is invited
to be blessed by monks on that day. You can
also offer food to the monks at their breakfast
dana session at 7.30am and lunch dana
session at 11.30am on May 17. A vegetarian
lunch will also be prepared for devotees at
noon followed by evening blessings and
chanting at 8pm. For more information,
contact 016-278 2962 (Foo).
Hospice treasure hunt
Come join Hospice Klang’s Charity Treasure
Hunt on June 12. The one-day hunt will be
held in Klang town at 8am. Get a team of three
to four people and join the hunt to raise funds
for the hospice. Entry forms are available now.
Each participant will be charged RM85. High
tea will be provided after the event. For more
information, call 03-33244740 or 016-274
1178 (Hong).
Photography creativity
Cyberview is holding a photography contest
until June 15 in Cyberjaya. The theme is
“A Zest for Life”. Cash prizes of RM3,500,
RM2,000 and RM1,500 will be awarded to the
top three contestants. For more information,
contact 03-83156048 (Rozi), or email rozi@
cyberview.com.my, or visit www.cyberview.
com.my/www.cyberjaya-tv.com.
We look after
Indians, says Khalid
By Basil Foo
KLANG: The Indian community has
not been neglected and their needs are
being looked into by the state.
“Selangor has approved land for a
[record] number of non-Muslim places
of worship, and has not demolished any
Hindu temple since 2008,” said Tan Sri
Khalid Ibrahim during a talk at Dewan
Hamzah last Saturday.
The Menteri Besar said land applica-
tions for 62 non-Muslim places of wor-
ship have been approved since 2009.
Speaking to more than 1,500 people,
he said the most number of temples that
were approved previously was only about
10 a year.
Malaysian Indian Voice (MIV) advi-
sor V Ganabatirau said protecting the
religions of the minority in the country
should be one of the priorities of the
government.
Ganabatirau praised the state for re-
leasing funds and granting land for
temple use.
 He welcomed continued assistance
from the state, but acknowledged that
approvals for land should be monitored
Controversial road
set to remain closed
By Chong Loo Wah
CHERAS: A traffic expert has recom-
mended that Jalan Pakis remain closed, with
other roads upgraded to accommodate
traffic in the area.
The move is good news for Taman Fern
Groves residents, who have been at logger-
heads with motorists from nearby housing
estates who want the road reopened.
The road was closed last September by
Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) follow-
ing complaints of traffic congestion and
noise pollution from the Taman Fern
Groves Residents’ Association.
However, 300 residents from neighbour-
ing areas signed a petition to protest the
closure as it restricted their access to the
Cheras-Kajang Highway.
Consequently, MPKj hired traffic plan-
ner Goh Bok Yen to conduct a holistic
traffic study on the entire area stretching
from Taman Kobena to Taman Suntex
covering several residential neighbour-
hoods.
On Sunday, Goh presented to residents
Khalid receiving a floral wreath from MIV leaders at the talk last Saturday.
to avoid haphazard construction.
 He added that the talk was a series of
events planned to highlight issues affect-
ing the Indian community with another
talk planned for Nibong Tebal soon.
“Politicians are generally not aware of
Indian issues because they are not close to
the ground,” he said.
Although they were working together
with politicians, he said MIV was trying
the 12 proposed measures to improve traffic
at the increasingly-developed area, which
has seven new development projects in the
pipeline.
“Some of the [existing] roads and junc-
tions are operating beyond their current
capacity, thus causing traffic delay,” said Goh
in his report.
Among the four short-term measures
include widening the road from the Police
General Operation Force Base in Cheras to
Taman Mudun and turning the Persiaran
Awana to Jalan Alam Jaya 2A intersection
into a T-junction.
Meanwhile, the council is also expected
to spend RM22 million to upgrade 8.8km
of roads in the area from 2013 to 2017 in
three phases.
Other medium-term traffic solutions
include the implementation of the Taman
Suntex MRT station and road improve-
ments proposed by MPKj in its local plan.
Goh highlighted that with seven more
development projects forthcoming, the area
is expected to have an additional 1,100
residential houses and 1.2 million square
feet of commercial lots.
He e s ti mat e d that
100,000 cars will be travel-
ling to and from the area
once the projects are com-
pleted.
Goh said MPKj needs to
carry out the 12 proposed
measures and strike a bal-
ance between development
and maintaining smooth
traffic to ensure a decent
quality of life for the people.
Goh (left) discussing the
plans with residents.
to maintain an apolitical stand to avoid
being used as a political tool.
Also at the talk were Selangor state
economic advisor Anwar Ibrahim, Pen-
ang Deputy Chief Minister II P Rama-
samy, Klang Member of Parliament
Charles Santiago, Petaling Jaya Utara
MP Tony Pua, Teluk Intan MP M Ma-
nogaran, and Puchong MP Gobind
Singh Deo.
Santiago:
Subsidise the
poor to help
them cope
By Brenda Ch’ng
KLANG: Spiralling food costs along
with Putrajaya’s hints of a Goods and
Services Tax (GST) are spurring calls for
subsidies for the poor.
“The state government should help
the poor by working with hypermarkets
to subsidise the cost of daily household
items,” said Charles Santiago.
The Klang Member of Parliament
pointed out that the 20 sen increase in
sugar prices may seem like a small
amount, but to the poor it is a big deal as
it also leads to an increase of most bever-
ages and food prices.
Santiago said the state government
could pay the hypermarkets directly to
make it easier for the poor to enjoy the
benefits.
He added that hypermarkets could
also look into selling more items in bulk
to make them more affordable.
“The working class need subsidies
urgently because they can no longer
survive on their wages,” said Santiago.
According to Santiago, a study of
food prices showed an increase of 40%-
60% from September 2010 to April
2011.
The current wages of RM500-RM750
earned by lower income groups are
hardly enough to raise a family.
He said a minimum wage of RM1,500-
RM2,000 is needed for all workers.
The federal government is considering
setting a minimum wage, but nothing
concrete is expected in the immediate
future.
SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ MAY 13 – MAY 15, 2011 ⁄ 5
6
News
May 13 — 15, 2011

Disabled being denied

By William Tan

PETALING JAYA: Despite existing laws and regulations,

the disabled community still find themselves at the short end

their basic rights

of the stick because of poor enforcement.
“We do have the Persons with Disability Act 2008, but it is He added that other crucial pub-
a toothless law. In reality, I have no protection, no power. I can’t lic amenities such as web accessibil-
even stop a perfectly fine person from parking in a handicapped ity and communication facilities are
spot,” said Stanislaus Anthony. all severely lacking or nonexistent.
The 63-year-old wheelchair- “I have friends from overseas who
bound resident highlighted the come in and are just shocked at how
plight of the community during little we are cared for,” said Yam.
the  Constitutional Rights for the Francis Siva, who represented the
Disabled seminar held last Saturday physically handicapped, said the
at  the Petaling Jaya City Council problems are aplenty: they have no
(MBPJ). healthcare, can’t get jobs, and are
The seminar, held in collabora- denied even the right to an educa-
tion with the Malaysian Bar Coun- tion due to inadequate facilities.
cil’s Constitutional Law Commit- Worst of all, he said, is the lack
tee, saw an attendance of 40  par- of respect towards their plight. He
ticipants, including the visually told a story in which he found a
impaired and physically  handi- handicapped toilet stall being used
capped. as a storeroom.
Stanislaus, however, pointed out Syahredzan Johan Stanislaus Anthony S Ramakrishnan Anthony Sivabalan “I’ve even heard of people criti-
that without strict enforcement, cising the MBPJ when it provides
such seminars are rather pointless mented at a ministerial level … everyone is afraid, frightened that Yam Tong Woo, who represented disabled parking spots,” said Senator
because the voices of the disabled but  never properly brought into they themselves will be disabled. the visually impaired, said the prob- S Ramakrishnan.
are still not heard.  Parliament, which means it is rarely, They’d rather ignore the problem lem lies in what he calls selective Ramakrishnan, who officiated
MBPJ councillor Anthony Siv- if  ever, enforced, and never at the than accommodate us,” sa id discrimination. the seminar, said local governments
abalan Thanasayan, who spear- scale needed for it to be effective. the councillor, who is himself wheel- He explained to the seminar at- must take the initiative to educate
heads much of the MBPJ’s special He believes that the problem is chair-bound. tendees and reporters that in Malay- the disabled on their own rights.
initiatives for the disabled, agreed not given due attention, and is com- He suggested that it may take a sia, the banks have decided not to The Malaysian  Bar Council’s
that  the existing laws are just not pounded by a lack of participation person being sued before anyone issue ATM cards to the visually Constitutional Law Committee,
adequate. by the public. takes them seriously. impaired – a huge inconvenience to established two years ago, runs na-
He said the law has been imple- “I find there is a denial syndrome If denial is not the issue, then their daily lives. tional campaigns on raising aware-

Wesak preparations under way

By Basil Foo
PETALING JAYA: Spiritual
preparations for Wesak Day are
underway at the Thai Buddhist
Chetawan Temple here, which saw
a steady stream of devotees offering
prayers on Wednesday.
“Coming here to pray has been a
tradition in my family for many
generations,” said Stewart Leong.
The 41-year-old manager, a devotee
of the temple on Jalan Gasing, said he
would be volunteering to cook food
for the festival next Tuesday.
Hindu devotees Kaminidevi Vel-
antham and Tinagaraj Arumugam
were also seen praying in the main hall
in the lead-up to Wesak Day.
“We have been coming here ev-
ery month for prayers. Hindus
sometimes come to Buddhist tem-
ples because we used to worship
Buddha also,” Kaminidevi ex-
plained.
She said the both of them would
Showing reverence... Devotees at the Thai Buddhist Chetawan
Temple praying for blessings.
be coming on the day itself to par-
ticipate in the candlelight proces-
sion and to pray for blessings.
Students Jack Chua and Tracy
Lim, who came for prayers before
the festival, said this would be their
first time observing Wesak Day at
this temple.
“We used to frequent a temple in
Jenjarom but decided to come here
this year because the events here
sounded interesting,” said Chua, 19.
Apart from prayer, devotees are
to follow a set of rules in preparation
for the festival, a day marked to
commemorate Buddha’s birth and
death. 
“Usually one week before the
festival, devotees may observe the
five precepts of no killing, no steal-
ing, no misconduct like adultery, no
lying, and to avoid alcohol,” said Rev
Woon.
The 39-year-old resident monk
said Buddhists may choose to ob-
serve these rules in their daily ac-
tivities, but in rare cases, some may
stay in the temple a week before the
festival.
Other practices that the temple
devotees observe are abstaining
from solid food after 12pm, avoid-
ing forms of entertainment like
music or television, and sleeping on
the floor.
“All these practices of abstinence
are a form of living without luxury,”
said the monk, who is one of 11 who
tend to the 54-year-old temple.
Businesses can face action
for operating illegally
• From page One
On the other hand, the business
operators can face action for illegal
trading, advertising or obstructing
five-foot ways.
The city council had issued 65
compounds involving the three of-
fences as of April 30, MBPJ public
relation officer Zainon Zakaria told
Selangor Times.
She said each compound costs
the shop owners RM250. Some
owners admitted that they would
rather pay MBPJ officers a token
amount of duit kopi rather than
being fined repeatedly.
The bridal houses are not the only
ones involved.
Other businesses like clinics,
florists and furniture stores that have
emerged along the residential prem-
ises during the past few years have
also suffer the same fate.
Mo s t o p e r a t o r s w e l c o m e
Cheong’s proposal to legalise their
businesses and hoped the process
could be sped up.
However, SS2 Utara Residents’
Lim (left) and Chua.
Tony Cheong
Association chairperson Magirin
Haron is concerned with worsening
traffic conditions as more businesses
spring up.
“How are they going to accom-
modate the customers? Will they
provide more parking spaces? If not,
the customers will come and park in
our area,” said Magirin.
He said customers from Jalan
SS2/75 would often park their cars
ness of  constitutional rights. But
this is the first time it has run a
workshop for the disabled.
“We all have rights, basic rights
as human beings, constitutional
rights as citizens of Malaysia, and I
want everyone to know them, espe-
cially the disabled.
"I want them to be aware, to be
educated, and assert their rights,”
said Syahredzan Johan, chairperson
of the committee.
He, however, added that for true
change to occur, a cultural change
must occur among the public, and
laws have to be properly enforced.
MBPJ estimates that one in 10
people in this city is disabled.
on Jalan SS2/80, which is a residen-
tial area.
He agreed that the houses are no
longer suitable for residential use,
but stressed that the city council
must provide a solution to their
parking woes as SS2 becomes in-
creasingly developed.
A long-time resident of SS2 ex-
pressed concern that the move
would open the floodgates.
The retiree pointed out that SS2
already had its commercial centre,
and businesses should be kept sepa-
rate from homes.
"This is a residential area, and we
don't want more businesses to dis-
rupt our quality of life," he said.
But Rukun Tetangga SS2B chair-
person Lee Kwee Cheng said it
would not make much of a differ-
ence as the bridal houses would not
attract  much traffic.
"The houses are changed to lim-
ited commercial status only … Some
of the owners are just waiting for the
right buyer to sell [their houses],"
said Lee.

Councillors:
Allocations not
ours to spend
By Alvin Yap
PETALING JAYA: Councillors criti-
cised for failing to spend millions of ringgit
for development have claimed the allega-
tions are unfounded because they cannot
use the allocations.  He pointed out that infrastructure pro-
“As a councillor, I can only suggest pro-
jects to the mayor and engineering depart-
ment. They will decide whether to approve
it or not, and how much money it should
receive,” said R Selvarajan.
The Petaling Jaya city councillor was
among four councillors who were criti-
cised  in an online news portal on April 30.
The portal, quoting unnamed sources,
reported that  Selvarajan was allocated
RM4.4 million while  Latheefa Koya re-
ceived RM5.4 million, Anthony Siva Balan
RM4.9 million, and Richard Yeoh Yong
Woi RM3.99 million.
It also reported that upon checking,
there were no projects in the councillors’
zone.
Selvarajan pointed out that MBPJ had
used allocations to upgrade the old drainage
system in Section 8 and also to maintain
roadworks in the Kampung Baiduri area
near Section 51.   she was not ruling out taking legal action
Yeoh said councillors do not “physically”
NEWS
MAY 13 — 15, 2011 7
Drainage at last for village
By Brenda Ch’ng
KAJANG: Villagers of Kampung Melayu
month to do a survey and draw up a plan.
Lee said he would monitor the progress
of the project to ensure there are no delays.
Bukit Dukung will be getting a proper The plight of the 200 families was
drainage system after a decade-long wait. brought to his attention when he visited the
“Their main problem is floods,” said village last weekend.
Kajang state assemblyperson Lee Kim Sin. During his visit, Lee also handed over 20
Currently, villagers have to make do with pieces of zinc to a family to replace their
handle the money. The allocations are put ditches to fend off floods. There are are no leaking roof.
into an MBPJ trust and deducted when proper outlets for water to flow during heavy Lee said a 60-year-old woman who lives
infrastructure work is carried out. rain, and this often leads to flash floods. with her mother asked him for help with
“MBPJ’s engineering department imple- Lee said he met Drainage and Irrigation the roof about a month ago.
ments the projects, and they go through the Department (DID) officials on Monday He also helped the villagers sign up for
costs with a fine-toothed comb,” said Yeoh.   and proposed a proper drainage system for state government schemes and welfare
the village. The proposal has been approved, programmes during his house-to-house
jects are awarded by MBPJ’s tender board and the DID will be visiting the village this visit.
chaired by mayor Datuk Roslan Sakiman. 
Yeoh said the report was not true, add-
ing that that projects which he had sug-
gested in Section 11, 12 and 13 had been
carried out.
They included upgrading the median
road divider pavements along the stretch of
Jalan Kemajuan as well as the traffic lights. 
Anthony asserted that he had no control
over the allocations. 
“If [the report], I am very happy in-
deed. I have been asking for more alloca-
tions to build more facilities for the disa-
bled, for example,” said the wheelchair-
bound councillor. 
“[As they say], show me the money, as I
have been asking for more to fund infra-
structure projects for the disabled,” he said.
Latheefa, a lawyer, slammed the report
as inaccurate and misleading, adding that
Lee getting to know one of the villagers during his visit.
against the writer.
8
NEWS
MAY 13 — 15, 2011

New barrier proposed at Mines

Teo, Ean Yong and Subang Jaya Municipal Councillor Loka Ng Sai Kai discussing the proposed
barrier.

By Brenda Ch’ng
SERI KEMBANGAN: A 300m-long barrier has been
proposed by Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd to stop cars from weaving
in and out on the hazardous road leading into the Mines shop-
ping centre.  to Mines,” said Teo Nie Ching.
The barrier will be located on the Sungai Besi Highway to
separate cars coming off the Seri Kembangan ramp and the
Kuala Lumpur highway route.
“Currently the road leading to Mines splits into two, with
the left lane going towards Balakong and the right lane towards
Mines,” said Ean Yong Hian Wah.
The Selangor executive councillor said with the Mines
building on the left, it is natural for drivers who want to go to
the Mines to keep to the left lane.
However, drivers often end up hitting the divider at the end
of the short curvy stretch of road while switching lanes.
With the news barrier in place, cars exiting Seri Kem-
bangan will have no choice but to take the Balakong route,
and cars from Kuala Lumpur will take the
Mines route.
“Both lanes can get you to the Mines.
Drivers in the Balakong lane have to make
a U-turn further down before driving back
Deadly divider: Accidents that have occurred on the road leading to the
The Serdang Member of Parliament was shopping centre.
concerned over the number of accidents
taking place here each month. are not allowed to open it to the public because Besraya has
She said the developer of the new Mines 2 has catered for not approved it,” said Chew.
a left-side exit leading straight to the shopping mall, which He said the new road was not approved as it had failed the
stems from the Balakong road. road and safety audit.
Teo said while there is likely to be an initial bout of confu- According to the audit report, the alternate access road
sion, 90% of drivers who use this road are shoppers, so the side gradient leading up to Mines 2 was too steep, and there is no
exit and barriers will eventually prove useful. proper barricade at the end of the access road. The auditor
Meanwhile, Mines 2 general manager (project and opera- appointed by Mines 2 deemed the road unsafe.
tions) Michael Chew said there is an existing side road leading Chew said Mines 2 should have been given a chance to
to Mines which has not been opened yet. experiment with the access road first, and would have gladly
“The side road is completed and ready to be used, but we closed it if it caused more accidents to happen.

Increased bounty to Setup of shelter for

curb illegal banners youths a group effort
By Alvin Yap
PETALING JAYA: Information lead-
ing to the conviction of culprits responsi-
ble for putting up illegal and unsightly
banners in the city will now earn residents
hard cash.
“Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
will now pay those that tip us off RM200
if the information leads to conviction in
court,” said Mohd Fauzi Maarop.
The city council enforcement head said
the new incentive comes on the heels of
the old scheme, where MBPJ gave RM100
in cash for every report made on illegal
banners.
He pointed out there were a few takers
under the old scheme, and the council
hopes the increased bounty would spur
more to do so.
He said this latest move is part of
MBPJ’s effort to tackle illegal banners
advertising money lenders, sex toys and
services, along with aphrodisiacs.  sara Damai on May 6.
At present, MBPJ is offering a 70 sen
bounty on every illegal banner the public
surrenders to their residents associations
or Rukun Tetangga.
Mohd Fauzi pointed out that enforce-
ment officers have removed some 56,303
illegal banners in Petaling Jaya, and have
issued RM33,500 in compoundable fines.
He said the majority of illegal banners
were placed in public, commercial areas
in the city, and named Section 14, Section
52, SS 2 and SS21 Damansara Jaya as the
places with the most obscene signage.
In December last year, irate councillors
Derek Fernandez and Tiew Way Keng had
called for firmer steps to be taken to rid
the city of the illegal advertisements.
Tiew said MBPJ by-laws only gave the
city council power to issue fines, payable on
the spot, to those caught putting up the il-
legal banners, but the city council does not
have the power to arrest the culprits.
“To arrest them and bring them to
court for trial, we have to work with the
police,” said Tiew on the sidelines of a
road show on illegal banners in Daman-
Tiew, a lawyer, said MBPJ will conduct
joint operations with the police at a later
date.
SHAH ALAM: Rumah Puteri Arafiah,
which was slated to begin operations on May
1, is in need of funding to run its operations.
The shelter home for teenage rape victims
was set up by the Selangor Women’s Welfare
and Charity Organisation  (Pekawanis) to-
gether with the Committee on Welfare and
Women’s Affairs, the Selangor State Develop-
ment Corporation (PKNS), and Raudhatus
Sakinah.
Pekawanis will be holding a collection
drive and high tea on June 4 at the Shah Alam
Convention Centre and aims to collect
RM200,000, which will be used to manage
the pool of trainers and volunteers in the
shelter for the current year.
“The state Social Welfare Department has
said it is not able to sustain the expenses in-
curred in running the shelter, and underscores
the need for private and public donations,”
said Pekawanis president Salbiah Tunut.
Salbiah, who sits on the director’s board of
Rumah Puteri Arafiah, said the responsibility
of running the shelter should not sit squarely
on the department’s shoulders, but should be
a concerted effort by all parties to address
social ills in the state.
The initiative is timely as the department
has cited an alarming rise in rape and incest
cases.
Salbiah pointed out that the home is aimed
at providing shelter and care to traumatised
rape victims, and will be a sanctuary for them
to regain their dignity and self-image.
The shelter home is open to youth of all
ethnicities aged 12 to 21 years. They must be
Malaysian and willing to undergo counselling
for the two-year period.
Pekawanis has identified a PKNS house in
Section 7 Shah Alam for the initiative.
Salbiah said PKNS was an example of a
company that was doing its best to fulfill its
Corporate Social Responsbility, and hoped
more companies in the private and public
sectors would follow in its footsteps.
Earlier, Salbiah said the high-tea event will
be highlighted by a Top Chef cooking com-
petition, which will see chefs from hotels in
Selangor battle it out to win top prizes.
Enquiries on the high tea can be directed
to Puan Norhayati or Cik Syafikah at 03-
55191248.

Hawkers told to move
or face further action
Cheong (second left) talking to residents at the Pandan Perdana hawker and futsal
centre. Looking on is Govindersamy (in green).
By Basil Foo
AMPANG: The Ampang Jaya Municipal
Council (MPAJ) is standing firm on its deci-
sion to relocate illegal hawkers on Jalan 9/10
despite their protest last Sunday.
“They have been operating for more than
Know Your Councillor:
Chong Hoon Ming
By Brenda Ch’ng
SUBANG JAYA: Long-
term educational planning for
the children in Kampung
Baru Seri Kembangan is what
local councillor Chong Hoon
Ming is looking into.
“Since there is only one
school in the area, I hope my
plans for free tuition centres
will be realised soon,” said
Chong.
The two-term councillor
said Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan
(Cina) Serdang Baru 1 is the
only school in the area.
He believes that educa-
tion is the key to moulding
the young to be leaders, and
it is also the first step to be
taken before the village can
be developed.
The 43-year-old said most
of the villagers are not edu-
cated enough to demand for
more facilities or stand up for
their rights.
Chong hopes the next
generation will be able to
step up to the plate and take
the lead towards transform-
ing the village.
The electrical engineer,
who used to be a councillor in
Taman Sungai Besi Indah, was
10 years without licences. If they don’t move,
we will keep issuing summonses and seizing
their wares,” said Dorothy Cheong.
The MPAJ councillor told reporters during
a site visit on Tuesday that the hawkers were
informed about the relocation to a nearby
hawker centre over a year ago.
transferred to Kampung Baru
last August at the request of
Seri Kembangan assemblyper-
son Ean Yong Hian Wah.
“When I [was] transferred,
most infrastructure problems
were already tackled, but there
was still a lot to do. The com-
plaints never end,” said
Chong.
He said the villagers are
more concerned about getting
their broken drains repaired
and their potholes patched
rather then asking for new
facilities.
When he moved to Kam-
pung Baru, complaints about
drains were so overwhelming
that it pushed him to ask for
funds. He managed to get
RM200,000 from the state to
repair the drains.
Apart from meeting their
basic needs, Chong took the
extra step to build a roof ex-
tension at the school. The
schoolchildren now have a
shady place to wait for their
parents to pick them up.
Another major task is solv-
ing problems among house-
owners.
While helping the villagers
apply for land titles, Chong
came across disputes among
The centre, with a capacity for 20 stalls,
is largely vacant and sits about 100 metres
away from the current illegal stalls situated
in an open space beside the Pandan Perdana
flats.
“We have been receiving complaints from
the flats residents for many years due to clean-
liness, safety, and pollution issues caused by
the illegal stalls,” she said.
She referred to a poll carried out by resi-
dents of the low-cost flats in 2008, where out
of 143 households, 101 voted to move the
stalls, while 42 rejected the move.
Some of the hawkers who oppose the relo-
cation staged a protest in front of Teratai as-
semblyperson Jenice Lee’s office to voice their
anger at having their stalls being demolished
in January.
“Most of those who protested are outsid-
ers … and there remain only two or three il-
legal hawkers left who refuse to move to the
centre,” said Cheong. There were initially 14
illegal stalls.
Several hawkers have since decided to close
their businesses, while others are wary of
dwindling sales should they agree to the move.
Hawkers who rejected the move claimed
their proximity to the flats offered them a
guaranteed stream of customers. They were
also worried that they could not afford the
rent at the centre.
During the site visit, some residents told
Cheong not to move the stalls as they
Essentials handed out
on Mother’s Day
RAWANG: State-sponsored food
donations were handed out to 50 needy
families here last Sunday to ease their
burden and to help them celebrate
Mother’s Day.
“The contribution and sacrifices
from mothers are priceless and invalu-
able. Their roles are not just to care,
nurture and teach; they are also the
breadwinner of their families,” said  Gan
Pei Nei.
The Rawang assemblyperson was at
neighbours who demanded a the Sri Bayu Rawang flats with Selayang
fair share of the land sur- Municipal councillor Mohd Sabri
rounding their houses. Mohd Taib to distribute rice and es-
He said most villagers are sential foods.   event.
unhappy about illegal exten-
sions that encroach on one
another’s land.
Villagers want the land
around their compounds to be
divided equally.
“All they want is a fair share
of their land, but it is hard to
satisfy the parties and give
them what they want when it
isn’t even clear how much land
belongs to whom,” said Chong
He has called for a surveyor
to resolve the issue, but some
cases have to be referred to the
land office for further help.
Chong hopes these issues
can be resolved quickly so
that he can start introducing
more modern facilities to the
village. (From left) Gan, Leong and Mohd Sabri.
NEWS
MAY 13 — 15, 2011 9
claimed there
was also a
strong sewer-
ag e smell at
the centre.
“As a poll
has been done,
we will take
action based
on the wants
of the majori-
t y. We have
contacted In-
dah Water to
look into the Cheong
nearby sewer-
age treatment plant,” Cheong said.
She added that the offer of the vacant lots
to the illegal stall operators had expired at the
end of last year, and are now open to be bid
upon by other hawkers.
Sundry shop owner Govindersamy Ma-
niam was one of the stall operators who
moved to the hawker centre three months ago.
While his profits neither rose nor dropped
after the move, he is still uncertain about the
future of his shop.
“I don’t know the future and whether my
business will improve just because I have
moved here,” said the 46-year-old.
He pays a monthly rental of RM860 for
two lots, and isn’t charged for the use of water
and electricity.
Gan pointed out to the participants
that the state had initiated a host of
social economic programmes for the
benefit of the public.
She urged them to register at her
service centre for the senior citizens’
scheme, the Selangor Childrens Welfare
Fund, and the Selangor women’s mam-
mogram scheme.
Also present was Selayang MP Wil-
liam Leong, who said Selangor had
many low-income households who still
need the aid. 
Gan also cut with a cake with
mothers who were present at the
10
News
May 13 — 15, 2011

Fresh coat for Taman Sri

Manja flats Painting work
underway at two
10-storey low-
cost apartment
blocks in Taman
Sri Manja.

Santiago with the participants.

Hee presenting a bucket of paint to Taman Sri Manja apartment

surau manager Mohamad Zamin Hassan. Looking on are Susunan
Baru building supervisor Sahrul Nizam, resident Mohd Safri Mohd
Eksan, Maharul, and MBPJ Building Control Department director
Hamidah Ariffin.
The council’s contribution is part many years,” said Hee Loy Sian. can be carried out,” Hee said.
By Basil Foo months,” he added. of a project to improve the quality The Petaling Jaya (South) Mem- He insisted there should be a law
The Petaling Jaya City Council of life. Flats in Taman Dato Harun ber of Parliament, who was at the to force developers to use their sink-
PETALING JAYA: Far from the (MBPJ) councillor told this to were the first beneficiaries in 2009. ceremony to present the paint to the ing funds, a pool of money they are
surrounding main roads and hidden about 100 residents of the 10-sto- The second recipients were resi- residents committee, said problems required by law to set aside, to
from public view, a low-cost apart- rey Taman Sri Manja apartments dents of an apartment project on arose due to the current laws govern- maintain their buildings.
ment in Taman Sri Manja will re- during a paint presentation cere- Jalan Medan, across Klang River ing high-rise buildings. Also at the ceremony was Taman
ceive fresh coats of paint from the mony on May 7. from the Taman Sri Manja apart- He said the maintenance of Medan assemblyperson Haniza
city council. He explained that MBPJ wanted ments. these buildings depended too Talha, who hailed the project as a
“Three hundred buckets of paint to dispel the myth that low-cost The council has budgeted RM1.7 much on maintenance fees from good move to provide the residents
were contributed by the council, housing does not receive the same million this year for painting old residents which complicated mat- with a sense of belonging.
[while] the developer, Susunan Baru standard of care as other areas. low-cost flats in all 24 zones within ters when poorer residents cannot “One of the reasons there was a
Sdn Bhd, will be contributing the “As this area is secluded from the Petaling Jaya. afford to pay. racial clash here back in 2000 was
labour,” said Maharul Ismail. nearby North Pantai Expressway “The priority for this project is “If only 20-30% can afford to pay, because the standard of living here
“The job of repainting the apart- (NPE) and the Old Klang Road, less towards the more dilapidated flats not much upkeep can be done on the was poor and small tensions would
ments should take about two attention is given here,” he said. which have not been repainted for buildings – only payment of utilities spark fights,” she added.

A tribute to mothers
S U B A N G J AYA : Fatimah
Mahmmod’s husband passed away
more than 30 years ago. Illiterate
but hardworking, the single moth-
er from Kampar, Perak successfully
raised her four children by working
as a cleaner.
Fatimah, 67, now lives with her
youngest daughter Zaimah Mustafa,
31, who is also a mother of three, in
Sunway PJS 7.
Zaimah’s childhood friend K
Kaladevi, 37, is also raising five
children aged three to 14, with the Free lunch was served for the 300 mothers from Subang Jaya.
help of her mother since her hus-
ang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah
band left the family three years ago. Regardless of their socioeco-
The three women were among Yeoh on Sunday in conjunction with nomic backgrounds, the 300 wom-
Mother’s Day.
the 300 mothers honoured by Sub- en were celebrated for their contri-
The mothers were treated bution to their families and society.
to a buffet lunch and perfor- Female volunteers from the
mances by local singers Ju- churches also helped to distribute
wita Suwito and Shaun Isaacs. carnations to the mothers.
Apart from working - “This is the first time we’ve Members of the public taking the opportunity to take photos with
class women, the event also brought them together,” said Yeoh, Dr Wan Azizah (seated left) and Yeoh (seated right).
saw a gathering of mothers who is expected to be a mother next Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to share her lem as her oldest daughter is very
across different faiths and month. experience as a mother with the stubborn.
ethnicities. Since taking office in 2008, Yeoh women. “She is a good child but very de-
Yeoh said they invited would visit the flats and celebrate Dr Wan Azizah spoke about gil,” said Zaimah while shaking her
women from Hindu temples, with Mother’s Day with the women, learning to deal with her children head.
Budd h ist a sso ciations, but this year she decided to hold a who would grow up to have a will of Her daughter, 13, wants to be a
churches, mosques, the Sub- bigger-scale celebration for the their own. police officer. Zaimah said she
ang Jaya Senior Citizens mothers. Zaimah, who works as a super- would support her children to
Club, and various residential Yeoh also invited Parti Keadilan market cashier, told Selangor Times achieve their ambitions as best as she
Zaimah and her mother Fatimah. areas in Subang Jaya. Rakyat president Datuk Seri Dr she has to deal with the same prob- could.
 VIEWS 11
MAY 13 — 15, 2011

Let’s start talking to one

another as a nation
I
t seems to be a
JUST SELANGOR worldwide pheno-
menon that people
TRICIA YEOH are driven by insecurity
and fear, especially of
what they do not understand or know.
When news of Osama bin Laden’s death came in, Ameri-
cans rejoiced on the streets. In this tit-for-tat world, a murder
was cleverly orchestrated and celebrated, in the end boosting
the public perception of US President Obama, whose ratings
had been previously falling.
For the less bloodthirsty of us, it was discomforting to note
the level of enthusiasm displayed. Sure, the man was instru-
mental in the deaths of so many, but, as some have pointed
out, the modus operandi was distasteful. He was unarmed and
did not fire any weapon when the killing took place, a decision
the US embarked upon unilaterally without international
consultation.
The celebratory response was only too telling of people’s
ignorance. Surely this would not stop “terrorists” from detest-
ing the West’s arrogance. But the ignorance runs deeper, not
knowing what Islam truly stands for, and thereby creating a
culture of fearing Muslims among many conservative Chris-
tians – the worst sort of generalisation, which national leaders
take advantage of for political gain.
But they are not the only ones guilty of politicising fear
and insecurity. I witnessed the same being cultivated in the
recent run-up to the Singapore elections, where the PAP
(People’s Action Party) government used stability and eco-
nomic wealth to woo voters, threatening that the opposition
parties would fail to deliver and hence jeopardise Singapore-
ans’ quality of life.
Fear and insecurity at home
Back home, we are probably the worst lot. The human race is
already prone to bouts of fear and insecurity as a natural in-
stinct, but in Malaysia it is made worse by the multitude of
subcultural groupings of ethnicity and religion. The
mantra is true that political parties have
capitalised on both race and religion for
their own personal gains at the expense
of national unity. How so?
Most recently, following the suc-
cess of the DAP in the Sarawak
state elections (winning 12 out of
its 15 contested seats), there was
some concern that its dominance
in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition
would juxtapose a Chinese-strong
opposition against a Malay-strong
Barisan Nasional coalition (where
Umno calls the shots and other parties
meekly comply).
This has culminated in a rather bizarre chain of events. A
Christian meeting in Penang organised by the National Evan-
gelical Christian Fellowship with other partners was accused
by pro-Umno bloggers of conspiring with the DAP to firstly
replace Islam with Christianity as the country’s official religion,
and secondly to put a Christian prime minister in office.
Christian leaders denied that these calls were part of the
session, which they say was an ethical seminar organised to
“discuss and address the issue of bribery and corruption in the
marketplace and the Christians’ contribution in addressing
such issues”.
Just preceding this, Pembela, a coalition of 20 Muslim
bodies, issued a statement expressing concern that Islam’s
position in Malaysia is under siege. The Malaysian Consulta-
tive Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism
and Taoism responded with their own statement, in which
they say Muslims’ position would never be threatened in
Malaysia as they would still possess political control, being in
the majority.
Thus began the domino effect, the seemingly unending
downward spiral. The DAP, the Bar Council, and a group of
non-governmental organisations, which includes the Centre
for Independent Journalism, responded in uproar, essentially
implying that no verification was done to prove the accusation
against the DAP was true.
Perkasa demanded punishment imposed on those challeng-
ing Islam as the country’s official religion; a police report was
made on the Bar Council’s constitutional committee lawyer
who said there was “no official religion” in Malaysia. The
verbal banter goes back and forth – it is like watching a bad-
minton game live on court.
Shutting out the noise and thinking
All that is taking place in our country is not new. New inci-
dents, perhaps. But these are merely manifestations of a
deeply rooted problem. They stem from age-old sentiments
of ignorance of “the other”, which are for years and years
never corrected – prejudices that stick like cling-wrap, which
teachers, parents, and mentors never bother to change.
And this is the real indictment on our leaders and el-
ders: that the generations to follow will adopt these
false notions of people outside our respective
comfort zones.
The noise that has been churning
around for the last week are sympto-
matic of the problems, yes; but they are
also being made by groups intention-
ally stoking the fire. In the debate that
revolves around race and religion, for
the rest of us who are by-standers, it is
not good enough to passively allow
these extreme views to represent that of
our own. That is not innocence. The
critical mind must shut out the noise and stop to think.
Christians have to realise that Muslims are genuinely fear-
ful of evangelical Christians. Under such circumstances,
Christians must address this fear first and foremost, or risk
further suspicion and anger.
Muslims, on the other hand, require some soul searching
to rid themselves of any false insecurity and fear on their part.
With the instruments of the law, the Federal Constitution,
government, and religious institutions at their disposal, there
should be adequate security that their faiths are not, in fact,
being threatened.
The wishy-washy answer is to “start talking to one another”.
Friendships abound between adherents of different faiths. But
this is not enough. Conversations have to dig deeper into
unveiling the prejudices against the other, which can be a
painful process. Perhaps false misconceptions can then be
corrected.
A preference, of course, would be to see each other as humans
first – never mind which god one prays to, resisting the tempta-
tion to save the person opposite you from the doom of Hell,
and treating the person as if he or she were someone whose views
and conversations you would perfectly enjoy in a regular Ma-
laysian mamak stall because of his or her humanity and dignity.
A player in this merry mess put it aptly: “Allowing the
debate over which race or religion wielded precedence in the
matter of who is qualified to become a holder of high office
… diverts from what is more important … a person’s intellec-
tual and moral fibre for high office.”
We criticise the West for their foolhardy reactions against
the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the like. But the real question is, do
we not feed ignorance, fear and insecurity on home ground
itself ? And the ugliest of them all is that the ruthless game of
politics has reared its vicious head to capitalise on this. Creat-
ing divisions for selfish gain.
The only way out is for us, the people, to stop fearing
and start learning. About each other. Properly. For real. We
have to do this. To save our souls from the eternal damna-
tion of politics.

Latest RON97 hike unreasonable

IT is regretta-
ble that our gov-
ernment has
raised the price of RON97
petrol by 20 sen again, from RM2.70
to a new record high of RM2.90, without
taking into consideration the escalating
cost of living endured by the public.
It is ridiculous to increase the price of
a widely consumed good by 35% in less
than six months, from RM2.15 in Novem-
ber last year to the current level.
This is the fourth time our government
has the raised the price of RON97 petrol
this year. Back in July 2008, when the
crude oil was at USD140 per barrel, the
price of RON97 in our country was
RM2.70. It is perplexing that with the
current crude oil price barely above
USD100 per barrel, our government has
raised the petrol price beyond RM2.70.
As an oil-exporting country, when the
price of crude oil increases, Malaysians
should benefit from the higher export
earnings from our crude oil. As Malaysia
produces very high-quality crude oil, the
export earnings should be even higher.
There is no reason for the government to
increase the price of petrol.    Though RON97 is perceived to be not
Why should the petrol price soar to
record level of RM2.90? The government
should provide an explanation to the
public, even though RON97 is generally
consumed by the higher-income group. Is
it because our export earnings from crude
oil are not sufficient to cover the expend-
iture due to higher crude oil prices?
The repeated hike in the price of
RON97 petrol portends the imminent
price hike for RON95 petrol. The recent
price hike of RON97 is just to test the
public reaction, a strategic move by the
government to prepare for the upcoming
national election.
commonly consumed by the public, it will
still result in cost pressure along the in-
dustrial value chain and exert inflationary
pressure on a wide variety of goods and
services, especially the food items. This
will further increase the burden of the
public.
The price hike of RON97 by the gov-
ernment is not the result of the higher
international crude oil prices. It only
shows that our government desperately
needs additional incomes due to its irre-
sponsible spending on unproductive
projects that cause escalating budget
deficits in Malaysia.    
Hee Loy Sian
Member of Parliament, 
Petaling Jaya Selatan
 Insight
12 May 13 — 15, 2011

Evolution of
By Brenda Ch’ng

P
icture yourself picking up the phone and dialling 999 dur-

Neighbourhood
ing a theft or burglary. You would expect to talk to a police
officer, or someone who can help you.
Instead, you end up having to spend those critical minutes ex-

Watch-Community
plaining the situation to a random operator who is manning the
phone. You panic and get frustrated because you are not getting
the help you want. During that time, the criminal might already

Policing
have injured someone or run away.
This situation is an example the police would like to share
with the public on why they end up arriving at crime scenes
1975  a little too late.
• Neighbourhood Watch, or more To help ensure they are there on time, the police want
popularly known as Rukun the public to be part of community policing.
Tetangga, was first introduced Contrary to popular belief, community policing is
by the Malaysian government not a replacement for Neighbourhood Watch, or Rukun
with the intentions of ensuring Tetangga (RT). Instead, it is a personalised policing
neighbourhood safety.
• I t w a s f o r m e d u n d e r t h e system where residents and police officers come together
Neighbourhood Watch Essential to combat crimes.
Regulations Act 1975. “With the help of residents informing us directly
about crime happenings in their Police in training at the Subang Jaya police head
1970s area, we can personally go down to

• Neighbourhood Watch focused on
mandatory night patrols by all parties.
• Their sole purpose was to serve as peacekeepers.
1980s
• Their mission switched from patrolling to breaking multiracial
Partnerin
the scene faster and perhaps apprehend
the suspects faster,” said Deputy Superin-
tendent Ng Thean Leng.
The chief of commercial crime at the
Subang Jaya police headquarters said crime-

to reduc
barriers in all neighbourhoods. fighting would be more effective if tackled
• They had the idea that neighbourhood unity would strengthen at the roots.
bonds in the community.
He added that crime rates in Subang
1990s  Jaya have dropped since residents there got
• Neighbourhood unity carried on, and soon the individual groups involved in community policing.
started promoting national unity and social interaction among “There has been a 12.3% drop in crimes
other groups. for the period of January to April 2011 to police inspectors. residents and their state assem
compared with the same period last year,” The tasks performed by the RAs and discuss issues in the neighbo
2001 said Ng. inspectors are similar, but their methods Another community p
• With globalisation, the group’s vision shifted yet again towards
community development. Community policing was introduced by differ. which operates the same way
• This is to help with empowering individuals to bring change Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa The most common approach in com- police station in Petaling Jay
within their community/neighbourhood. Hassan in April 2007 as part of the police’s munity policing are the monthly meetings Like the team in Bandar
Five-Year Strategic Plan. between police and representatives from too have monthly meetings w
2003 He introduced community policing resident associations. representatives give crime up
• Neighbourhood Watch reintroduced voluntary patrolling by with the hope that crimefighting would be “The meetings give the police and resi- cuss with police ways to solv
forming either a Neighbourhood Committee or Volunteer Patrol
Scheme.  more effective if both police personnel and dents a chance to voice out their opinions “Working closely with the
• Groups with 20 patrollers or more have to register with the members of the community joined forces. and ideas on how best to tackle crimes in tor in charge is a very good ste
National Unity and Intergration Department. When launched, Hassan made it com- the neighbourhood,” said Inspector Muni- RA,” said Section 21 Sea Park
• Training is provided upon registration of each group with the pulsory for all police stations to set up their andy Rethiah. Cassian Baptist.
department, and RM 2,500 funding is given. own community policing teams.  The chief police of Bandar Sunway says Baptist said right after the
Such teams are made up of representa- it is hard to identify neighbourhood crimes RA in 2008, they joined th
2007 tives from resident associations (RAs), RT without the help of residents. policing team.
• In April, Inspector-General police Tan Sri Musa Hassan
introduced community policing as part of the Royal Malaysian and police officers from different depart- He gets calls on his mobile phone from He added that contacts
Police (PDRM) Five-Year Strategic Plan for 2007-2011. ments, and are spearheaded by inspectors residents reporting crimes and suspicious police personnel come in ver
• Musa Hassan made it compulsory for all police stations to have of police stations in the area. Community activities at all hours of the day and night. he needs to report a crime.
a community policing team. policing also serves to improve bonding “I would personally go to the scene of “We [residents] will do o
• The community policing team is made out of residents between the police and the community. the crime to assess the situation and make porting crime to the police a
associations (RAs), Neighbourhood Watch, other voluntary Another reason why community po- arrests if necessary,” said Muniandy. will do their part to tackle th
members of the public, and police inspectors.
licing is important is that the Apart from the monthly meetings, the they can,” said Baptist.
2008 community can see the risks Bandar Sunway community policing team Unlike the other two team
• Community policing teams are and methods police personnel also organises events like gotong-royong, Bukit Tinggi police station
increasing. undertake to fight crime. festivals, and functions like Hari Polis. erates differently, carrying
• More RAs are registering with Residents can also monitor These events are open to the public and patrolling three to four time
their local police stations to be the progress in a criminal case. allow the police to educate the public about A team of residents will
part of community policing.
crime awareness. from 9pm to midnight accom
2009 How does community “The events are very useful to us because or more policemen.
• With the growing number of policing work? we can communicate directly with the “It is crucial we go on patro
community policing teams in RAs that are involved in com- residents. We also give them our mobile because the crime rate is very
Selangor, Kuan Chee Heng munity policing have a social numbers [so that they can] reach us directly arrest criminals and be there
founded the online community responsibility to report crimes in cases of emergencies,” said Muniandy. said Sergeant Manogaran M
policing website.
• This website acts as a platform in their neighbourhood directly He also attends regular dialogues with Muniandy, who is in char
for the police and public in
Selangor to interact and
exchange crime experiences Community policing Balai Polis Bandar Sunway mon
and information. meeting with the residents and police officers.

2010
• Crime mapping done by Kuan
with statistics given by police
inspectors showed a decrease
in crime rates and an increase
in police successes.
• Community policing also
involves social events and
frequent get-to-know-you
sessions between the public
and their police inspectors.

2011
• The community policing team has reached approximately Community Policing
30,000 members, excluding police officers. cabin for police in various
• More people are encouraged to join and form their own areas sponsored by
community policing team in their neighbourhood. committee members in
the neighbourhood.
 Muniandy
(left) and
Ng (centre)
during one of
the meetings
with RAs.

dquarters.

ng police Community
policing

ce crime
volunteers at the
scene of a crime.

mblypersons to
ourhood.
policing team
y is the Sea Park
ya.
r Sunway, they
where resident
pdates and dis-
ve issues.
e police inspec-
ep taken by the
k RA chairman

e revival of the
he community

s with various
ry handy when

our part in re-

and the police
he issues as best

ms, the Bandar

n in Klang op-
out voluntary
es a week.
l go on patrol
mpanied by two

ol [in this area]

y high. We can
e on the scene,”
Muniandy.
rge of the Bukit

nthly

Police and community policing members talking to hawker stall owners about crime in their area.

Tinggi police station, said they have man-
aged to arrest several burglars.
“Working with the residents has its
advantages because they are the only ones
who would be able to tell you the exact
location of these crimes,” he said.
He added that without the residents’
help, they would be clueless as to where
the hotspots are.
Community policing may vary in dif-
ferent areas, but the objective of reaching
out to the community stays the same.
How to form a community po-
licing team in your neighbour-
hood
There are several steps to take before a
community policing team can be formed.
As the police stations only recognise RAs
as a proper group, the chairman will have
to submit a list of names to the neighbour-
hood police station.
Once the list is verified and approved
by police, inspectors will contact the
residents. RAs and individuals who are
interested in forming a community po-
licing team can also obtain information
from the police directly.
Alternatively, individuals can also reg-
ister at the community policing website.
You do not need to be a member of a
RA to become a member online.
All you have to do is fill in a form, an-
swer a brief questionnaire, and you will be
contacted for community policing events.
This online registration also enlists you
in a crime watch team, where notices will
be sent to you either via short-messaging-
system (SMS) or e-mail.
As a community policing member,
you are encouraged to help report crime,
spread crime awareness to other members
of the community, take part in patrols and
build closer rapport with police.
14
VIEWS
MAY 13 — 15, 2011
Wither minimum wage bill?
wit pleasure
Lee Hwok Aun
I
n my last column I wrote about our
rush to meet grandiose targets and
end up with partial or delusional
solutions. Right on cue, Datuk Seri Idris
Jala disclosed on April 26 that Pemandu
is expecting do deliver a modus operandi
and quantum of minimum wage by the
end of this year.
Nothing was reported about how the
wage floor would be deliberated now
and reviewed in years to come, and how
the compliance will be monitored and
enforced. But a deliverable outcome in
the form of a minimum wage rate will
be rendered in a few months.
In my February article, in anticipa-
tion of the government’s then commit-
ment to deliver a minimum wage bill in
Parliament in March, I noted this is a
vital national objective that demands
robust parliamentary debate.
I should be more specific, especially
since that bill has still not arrived: we
need a comprehensive new law that
establishes minimum wage determina-
tion, monitoring and enforcement
mechanisms.
A few days before Pemandu publi-
cised its foray into minimum wage, the
Malaysian Employers Federation
(MEF) issued a press release calling for a
national wage council to be set up quickly,
without passing a new law.
These statements by the MEF and Pe-
mandu undermine the establishment of a
minimum wage system consistent with and
worthy of Malaysia’s aspirations to be a high-
income and developed nation.
The existing law – the Wages Councils
Act (WCA) of 1947 – is grossly inadequate
for a full, effective and sustained implemen-
tation of minimum wage. The scope of the
WCA is too limited for the requirements of
a national minimum wage system. The plu-
ral form in its title makes clear that the Act
sets out the terms for various councils over-
seeing designated areas, sectors or industries,
Protest in Kuala Lumpur on Labour Day.
not a single national wage council which is
a far larger and more complex programme
of action.
The WCA also severely lacks elements
crucial for the effective monitoring and
enforcement of minimum wage. Its lack of
clear procedures for monitoring compliance,
designation of authority and functions to
government agencies, and protection for
whistleblowers underscores the need for it
to be replaced, not amended.
Overall, the WCA is oriented towards
specific and impermanent mechanisms,
whereas we need a comprehensive and per-
manent new system.
Instead of ad hoc commissions of enquiry
to study the prospects for sectoral wage
floors, which the WCA provides for, our
national minimum wage legislation must
establish mechanisms for continuous and
rigorous analysis of labour market and wage
data, review of minimum wage levels, and
other relevant information.
Aside from Pemandu’s murky jurisdiction
over setting minimum wage, we should also
be concerned that deliberations in the labs
that serve as its source of authority have not
benefited from the rigorous labour market
analysis and formal tripartite representation
that would transpire from new laws and a new
national wage council and ancillary agencies.
Moreover, the Ministry of Human Re-
sources also conducted a minimum wage lab
in Putrajaya in February 2011, where inter-
national consult-
ants presented em-
pirical findings and
facilitated discus-
sion across the
range of stakeholders.
Does Pemandu’s lab override the
Ministry of Human Resource’s lab?
The best way to clear the air is to
table comprehensive new minimum
wage legislation as the government has
promised for this June. Parliament owes
workers a vigorous debate over this bill,
so that the wage council to be estab-
lished is safeguarded sufficient autono-
my, authority and resources to deter-
mine and implement minimum wage.
And amid this debate, let’s not be
distracted by a propagated but basically
irrelevant objection: that we should
leave minimum wage to be determined
by “productivity”.
This argument boils down to faulting
low wage earners for being less produc-
tive, and is often advanced by the MEF.
But it hardly applies to wages at the
bottom end.
First, in many cases of low-paid
workers, the amount of work is assigned
by bosses. Think about this. You tell a
person they will be paid according to
how much they work, then you tell
them how much they get to work. Who
is responsible if they earn low wages?
Second, it is difficult to precisely
determine one worker’s contribution in
a production line. This problem applies
to productivity-linked wages at all lev-
els, but is more severe for the lowest-
earning workers, who are more likely to
be one of many performing the same
repetitive, elementary tasks.
Third, in some sectors, technically pos-
sible measures of productivity make for re-
dundant or meaningless requirements if we
are to truly abide to a productivity-linked
system.
Take a person who cleans toilets. Accord-
ing to this argument, he or she is paid
poorly because of low productivity – he or
she cleans the toilet only twice a day.
It follows that this person will receive
higher wages if he or she cleans the toilet
three times per day, four times per day.
Very soon, though, it becomes pointless
(once every hour?). Which is why janitors
are not paid according to productivity; they
are paid as low as possible because the system
allows it.
It’s also because our culture generally
demeans such labour, which reinforces the
case for minimum wage – it lends dignity
to lowly work.
 NEWS 15
MAY 13 — 15, 2011

Youths raise funds for tuition centre

By Gan Pei Ling RM80,000 for the construction of
  the new building.
KLANG: After a three-month Logan said they have managed to
leadership stint, 14 young leaders put
secure RM10,000 from the Youth
their skills to the test and organised
and Sports Ministry, as well as dona-
a carnival for 4,000 people at Seri tions from corporations like Nestle
Andalas on Sunday. Malaysia.
From securing sponsorships to He told Selangor Times that they
publicising the event, the 10 girls have also raised around RM4,000
and four boys learnt how to cope from the coupon sales for the carnival.
with pressure under strict deadlines The carnival event manager was
while organising the Boom Boom responsible for the opening and clos-
carnival. ing ceremony.
“We’re fundraising for the Port Logan, who is an aspiring teacher,
Klang branch of the Malaysian had heard of the three-month youth
Hindu Youth Council to build a new empowerment programme for SPM
community tuition centre,” said S leavers from his brother.
Logan, 18, formerly from SMK From February to April, Logan
Perantau Damai, Pahang. was one of the 14 selected youths
Their objective was to raise who were trained in various aspects
of leadership at
the camp.
Their adviser,
S Arikrishnan,
said the young
leaders came up
with the idea of
the carnival on
their own.
“ The y de -
cided to call the
carnival Boom
Boom,” he said.
Arikrishnan
added that the
(Fourth from left) Jayakumar, Siti Mariah and
Santiago with the youth leaders.
food stalls,
game booths, blood donation drive,
free health check-ups and perfor-
mances at the carnival were organ-
ised by the youths themselves.
Arikrishnan said he and other
older leaders merely acted as advisers
to guide the youths.
K Shaarmeni, 18, from Kedah
was in charge of logistics.
“I’ve to make sure there are always
people manning the booths, and that
there are sufficient utensils available
for the public,” she said.
The former student of SMK
Convent Father Barre had heard
about the three-month leadership
camp from her uncle, who was a
member of the Malaysian Hindu Ten different game booths, including mini-football penalty scoring
Youth Council. and basketball shooting, were available at the carnival.
“It was tough for me in the begin-
ning of the camp because it’s the first Her six-year-old daughter was Xavier Jayakumar on Sunday morn-
time I was away for such a long pe- there for a performance and a colour- ing. Kota Raja Member of Parlia-
riod from home,” said Shaarmeni. ing contest. ment (MP) Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud
But she managed to overcome her The carnival was launched by and Klang MP Charles Santiago
homesickness and enjoyed the camp Selangor executive councillor Dr were also present at the launch.
in the end.
M Mohana, 32,
from Sha h Alam,
who attended the car-
nival with her three Electric scooters
up for grabs
young children,
praised the young
leaders for the well-
organised event.
“This is excellent,”
said Mohana.

Tapping the potential

of the young
By Brenda Ch’ng
SUBANG JAYA: Young leaders gathered at
Taylor’s Lakeside Campus over the weekend to
share their stories with the young to inspire them
into becoming leaders of tomorrow.
The Selangor government project was organ-
ised by Merdeka Research Centre, which aims
to build bridges between Malaysians and leading
members of society.
“This is the first year we are doing it, and we
hope that after this session the participants will
be more vocal in expressing their views and
ideas,” said Lee Lih Qing.
The Merdeka Centre research associate said
the talk was a platform for young leaders to share
their personal stories on how to reach their full
potential in life.
Lee said this was the third forum, where the
first and second had been held in Bangi and
Petaling Jaya respectively. The fourth and last
(Second from left) Malik, Nurul Izzah, Eddin Khoo and Chin.
one for the year will be held in Shah Alam.
“Intimate talks like this will help youths real-
ise their role in the future. This forum also helps
create a platform and space for youths in Selan-
gor to hear stories and ask questions first-hand,”
said the founder of Asian Youth Ambassadors,
Kenneth Chin.
Chin said he wants youths who are serious
about making changes to understand the impor-
tance of racial integration when it comes to na-
tion building.
Fellow speaker Dr Maszlee Malik reckoned
that youths should be given more opportunities
to question, and to voice their thoughts freely.
“I hope the youths know that the scope for
change in this country is very wide. They can
always make changes in different fields,” said
Nurul Izzah Anwar.
The Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament
added that youths have to be more wary about
issues involving them.
By Basil Foo
KUALA LUMPUR: Shoppers can
look forward to winning an electric
scooter when they shop in any of the
seven Metrojaya stores in the country
from now until June.
“All they have to do is spend at least
RM100, answer three simple questions,
and write a slogan of why they want the
scooter,” said the retail group’s executive
director, Pel Loh.
Competition entry forms and a single
receipt containing at least RM100
should be submitted to any Customer
Service Centre in Metrojaya stores by
June 30.
The Eclimo Es 11 electric scooter, a
product of Eclimo Sdn Bhd, is powered
by Lithium-Ion batteries and has the
power equivalent of a 125cc petrol-
powered motorcycle.
The scooter has a top speed of
110km/h, and a three-and-a-half hour
charge from any home power socket will
give it about a 100km driving range.
“It is cheaper than conventional bikes
as a total charging session costs about
69 sen from a home socket, following
TNB tariffs,” said Eclimo director Woo
Kok Boon.
Woo explained that filling the fuel
tank of a conventional motorcycle
would cost as much as RM12 and give
a driving range of 100 to 200km.
He also said customers would save on
maintenance fees with the electric
scooter as it is engineless and uses
maintenance-free batteries.
“Servicing it is also not messy. I tell
my customers if they want, I can service
their bike in my own bedroom. That’s
how clean it is,” he added.
The electric scooter has also received
a Green Certificate from the Malaysian
Green Technology Corporation for be-
ing a certified eco-friendly product.
The corporation’s chief executive of-
ficer, Dr Nazily Mohd Noor, said they
have evaluated the product and awarded
the certificate in March.
“The use of fully electric vehicles on
Malaysian roads should be authorised
by June after a few planning procedures
by JPJ,” added Dr Nazily.
This competition is a part of a nature
conservation campaign launched by
Metrojaya in May and June as a com-
pany that cares for the environment.
The store also has on offer clothing
products made of natural fibres and eco-
friendly home appliances to support the
government’s effort in promoting green
technology.
16
FOOD
MAY 13 — 15, 2011

Balinese adventure at Waterlily

By Basil Foo

W
ith the proliferation of food
outlets offering Balinese cuisine
around town, it has become
much easier to sate one’s hankering for
Indonesian food.
The Waterlily Bistro, which calls itself a
contemporary Balinese bistro, serves up a
variety of exotic foods with familiar tastes
in a cozy resort setting.
It is one of several outlets serving similar
fare, such as Bumbubali in Bandar Puteri
Puchong, and Ole-ole Bali in Sunway,
Subang, and Mont Kiara.
We visited this particular restaurant one
evening after spotting its eye-catching
design and well-decorated interior from
along Jalan Mutiara Tropicana 3.
The bottom floor, dimly lit to evoke a
mysterious mood and decorated from wall
to wall with wood carvings, was initially
vacant when we were seated by the attentive
staff.
The dishes arrived soon after we ordered,
and the place began to bustle with activity
as a sizable dinner crowd, given that it was
a weekday night, started to fill in.
The Sup Buntut (RM14) was first to
arrive and came with a side of fried shallots,
spring onions, half a lime, and a slice of The Waterlily Bistro has a calm spa-like environment.
toasted baguette.
The various condiments could be added into the soup for meats, and eggs to complete the dish.
taste, while the clear soup had tomatoes, rice cubes, and chunks We would not have been caught off-guard if we
of oxtail in it. were privy to the fact that the Indonesian word “tipat”
Splendid for a cold rainy night, the warm and tangy is related to our own term for rice cubes, the ketupat.
“Indonesian oxtail soup”, as it were, was enough for a single Included in it was tempeh, which is an Indonesian
serving. delicacy of fermented soybeans, and a side of peanut
Under the appetizer section, the Tipat Cantuk (RM15) sauce – reminiscent of our own local satay nut sauce.
was a salad of mixed vegetables, so we expected a side dish of The dish in itself made for good eating, but its taste
healthy greens at most. was otherwise unremarkable and did not seem to
As it turns out, the bowl of mixed vegetables was large correspond with the apparent Balinese trend of
enough to be a meal on its own, with rice cubes, fried tofu, blending strong flavours together.
Next up was the Sate Lilit (RM15), a
form of minced seafood wrapped around Sate Lilit
sticks of lemongrass and grilled with oil
and spices for an added kick. The main dish for the night, Nasi Cumi (RM29), was a
From the first bite, the impression was that it basic rice dish with a side of squid, spinach, sambal terasi and
resembled otak-otak, which is a Nyonya dish of sambal matah.
fish meat wrapped in leaves and grilled. Sambal terasi was something we were more familiar with
The meat came easily off the lemongrass stems, as it is basically a form of chili sauce with dried shrimp, readily
an ingenious method of combining flavour and available in restaurants the country over.
functionality, and was increasingly addictive However, the sambal matah, a condiment made of raw
with every stick we ate. shallots and lemongrass, tasted more foreign as it was less spicy
This dish is highly recommended for anyone and was served to make the dish more aromatic.
wanting a quick snack, or if you are a fan of The overall dining experience had its hits and misses, with
Balinese wanting to convince the uninitiated to some dishes standing out more than others, but we would
give the cuisine a try. definitely go back, if only to pick our favourites.

Sup Buntut

Tipat Cantuk Nasi Cumi

 FICTION 17 MAY 13 — 15, 2011

Look At Us Now!
Fiction by Shivani Siva “I hope you’ve eaten,” she said, eyeing the copy of Science ingly enchanted Ms Andrews running around the hills, alive
Monthly that lay on the dashboard by the entrance. On the with music.

I
t was obvious the country was turning older. Flags,
advertisements, posters, banners indicated celebration:
twisting bodies with faces shouting through orange-stained
mouths, “Look at Us Now!”
Reika liked that poster best, the Fanta one where bottles
of orange, purple and red beverages lit up the expressions of
ordinary citizens. All citizens are ordinary, she thought. The
moment you’re called “citizen”, you merge into a cluster of
People. It was nice to have that certainty as she left the
medical college and returned to her mother in Petal-
ing Jaya, where she would become an Individual
again, de-clustered.
Her mother was sitting in her afternoon spot
by the window, concentrating on the cracking
of kuaci shells. “Back,” Reika said, audibly
enough for herself and her mother. That was
all that was necessary.
Everything had to be just enough for two:
the lovers’ seat, two dinner plates, a pair of
spoons, a pair of forks, a cow mug, a “Best
Mummy In The World” mug.
“Can’t wait till you become a doctor,” her
mother said, repeating her daily 2pm words.
And Reika nodded, still by the front door,
unseen, biting her lips from saying, “I wish you
would at least try to move a toe”. Her mother’s
accident five years ago had left her bedridden, not
for life, but it was something her mother clearly
wanted: an existence in a wheelchair, being tipped over onto
bed where half of her days were spent dreaming, cursing at
newspapers, eating milk appams and inhaling rasam.
“You’ll be very successful one day, I just know it,” her
mother was fond of saying, usually at dinner when they sat in
front of the TV watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
“Thanks, Ma,” Reika would reply, censoring the rest of her
sentence: “It’s okay if you want to succeed too, you know. And
why the hell must we watch this every night? And why must
you get excited when some stranger wins 20,000 dollars?” But
that was her mother, she ended up concluding in her head,
and that was that.
cover was a picture of a beast-man on which the words “Are
We Part Neanderthal?” were printed in bold red.
“Yes,” her mother replied.
Reika took the magazine, impatient now to find out if we
were indeed impure Homo Sapiens,
but her mother continued, “Come here a while. I know you’ve
had a long day. Let’s watch The Sound of Music.”
Again? What more could we possibly get out of Julie
Andrews and that brood of benign children? But they be-
longed to Ma’s ritual, so she brought the magazine with her
to the hall where the TV was already featuring an exasperat-
“I like How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?,” her
mother said.
Yes, Reika thought, it’s a big question. How does anyone
solve the problem of a person’s personality? She flicked
through Science Monthly as Ms Andrews was being compared
to a moonbeam in the hand. Well, would you look at that? We
may be part Neanderthal! Which meant that we may have the
instinct to only eat meat, to be violent, to eat each other. That’s
where our gung-ho must come from.
“She has so much energy, that Julie Andrews. Look how
she dances and skips,” her mother said, beaming at the TV.
“She’s gung-ho. Everyone can be that. Even you. It’s in our
blood,” Reika said.
But the Neanderthals were too large, too inflexible to sur-
vive. Still, their will to live on might just have come true in us.
Their little strength succeeded in our big strength.
Ms Andrews was now full of confidence as she headed
towards the mansion where she will fall in love. Something
about that scene made Reika want to talk. “Ma,” she said,
loudly enough for at least four people to hear. Her mother
looked at her, startled. “Ma,” she said again, “we may be part
Neanderthal.”
“So what?”
“We don’t even know what we’re made of. I mean, what we
can do. If we don’t even know what we are, how do we know
what talents we have?”
“So what?”
“Move a toe”.
Her mother pretended not to hear her.
“You cannot keep thinking that you’re unlike other people.
We all don’t know what’s in our blood. Even Julie Andrews.
That’s why she can skip like that. Mother? I want to be an
ordinary citizen. Look, Independence Day is coming soon.
Why don’t we go out? Celebrate? You haven’t left the house
in five years.”
“There is no such thing as independence. We all need
something.”
“There is independence from oneself.”
But raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens had in-
truded upon them.

Free tuition centre making good in Subang

catch up with lessons in school. lower-income families are affected the most
“My target is to get 5As in the UPSR as their parents, faced with a rising cost of
[examinations],” said the Standard 6 pupil. living, cannot afford tuition fees,” said Han-
About 25 children turn up regularly for nah Yeoh.
the 10am classes, which run for one and a The Subang Jaya assemblyperson said the
half hours, and are taught English and Math- centre aims to help the children, who cannot
ematics after being separated into their re- catch up in school.
spective Standards. Her office pays for the utilities and up-
Before accepting the students, the tui- keep of the centre, while the furniture and
tion centre conducts background checks on books were donated by private schools.
the families to ensure only the poorer The venue for the tuition centre, a com-
families, some of which are hawkers, ben- munity hall on the ground floor of apart-
efit from the free service. ment block V, was offered by the Subang Jaya
“Children of higher earners will be put Senior Citizens Club, who were initially
on the waiting list if there is not enough renting it.
room, but so far we’ve managed to accept Yeoh also thanked the management of the
100% of the applicants,” said Ang Peng apartments for helping to promote the tui-
Hoe. tion programme to the residents.
The AYA coordi-
nator explained that
the student-teacher
ratio is now one vol-
unte er to a b o ut
Yeoh speaking to primary schoolchildren. Looking on are Subang Jaya councillor Rajiv three children, with
Rishyakaran (second right), and centre representatives and volunteers. a total of 40 volun-
teers being rotated
By Basil Foo “As we are based in Subang, we just wanted every two weeks.
to give back to the society in our area,” said He said they were
SUBANG JAYA: A free tuition centre the 27-year-old, who is a member of the Asian trying to reduce the
for underprivileged children in Subang Youth Ambassadors (AYA). ratio to give students
Perdana Goodyear Court 2 has registered Mohd Faez Samion, a 12-year-old pupil, more direct coaching
40 pupils since its inception in February. said his parents would send him from their as they have identified
“The response was better than we expected. home a few blocks away to the weekly some children who do
We thought they would trickle in, but we got classes. not even know how to
to 40 students after the first two weeks,” said Having attended the tuition classes for read yet.
Jade E, a volunteer at the centre. three months, he said it had helped him to “Children from A volunteer teaching English to the children.
18
TRAVEL
MAY 13 — 15, 2011
Mother Nature reigns
supreme
The green hills may not always be alive with the sound of music, but LIN ZHENYUAN finds out that trees,
bushes and even grass can combine to be an elixir of life
The garden has many paths that lead to wonderful discoveries.
T
he human instinct to seek communion with Mother
Nature is inherent in all of us. Now and then, the urge
becomes irresistible, and we jump into the car and
head for the hills.
In this case, the nearest such place for Petaling Jaya resi-
dents is the botanical garden in the Forest Research Institute
Malaysia (Frim), Kepong.
Frim has been around since 1920, when it began as an
extensive green lung for forestry research.
What the public sees today is the result of many long years
of painstaking work carried out by dedicated staff who have
invested untold time and immeasurable effort into the study
of plants, herbs, flowers and trees for our benefit.
Frim covers a mature area of 1,319 hectares. The botanical
garden covers 80 hectares. The sprawling landscaped garden
has lakes, ponds, secondary forest and lots of plants.
In the mornings and evenings, joggers and health en-
thusiasts can been seen scattered all over the place taking
in lungfuls of fresh air and indulging in various forms of
exercise.
The forestry research institute, among other duties, fo-
Nature’s reflection in the calm waters of a garden lake.
cuses on botany, landscaping, nursery, medicinal plants and The perfect place to pause and reflect on the purpose of
urban forestry. These fields of study contribute in a significant life.
way to the development of the botanical garden.
The recreational facilities in the garden are for enjoyment The main aims of the botanical garden at Frim are to
of the people who reside nearby and for those who come promote the importance of plant life and forests, provide
from a distance away. It is a place where children can run technical help to colleges and companies, and provide train-
freely on the undulating land and the adults can sit, enjoy ing to students of colleges and universities. It is also to extend
the sights, and partake  of meaningful conversation with knowledge and technical know-how to those who desire to
family and friends. manage nurseries properly.
Not many people know that the garden has themes that On the aesthetic front, the botanical garden is a real sight
have led to a deeper understanding of plantlife and their for sore eyes. Anyone who enters the garden and is oblivious
habitats. The areas of study include common garden plants to the beauty and importance of the landscaped slopes and
and medicinal plants. hills needs to have his or her eyes examined.
The places where these plants originally thrive or survive Most of us city residents will welcome this garden as
include limestone, mangrove and unbeaten wild areas. The therapy for our tired bodies and stressed minds. A few hours
growth habits of many tropical species are closely studied in in the botanical garden are enough to soothe the soul and
the garden. calm restless spirits. The pollution-free atmosphere acts as a
Plant groups like ferns, orchids, ginger palms and interest- balm for people of all ages. It would seem that the forest has
ing botanical lifeforms are given special attention. Results a positive force of its own.
of extensive researches are later offered to institutions of The Frim ethno-botanic garden was established in 1995.
learning for educational purposes. The attention given to the aromatic and medicinal plants has
 TRAVEL 19MAY 13 — 15, 2011

✂
Take 5 minutes to fill this form up and drop it off at
the nearest police station to have regular checks
at your house while you are away.

Ibu pejabat Polis Daerah Subang Jaya

Tel: 03-5637 3722 Fax: 03-5631 9815
A little bridge that leads somewhere in the sprawling garden. Borang maklumat
Memaklumkan tentang meningalkan rumah kediaman untuk
brought forth information and bercuti.
knowledge that made the public ap-
preciate the significance and worth Kepada Kawasan Pentadbiran Balai Polis
of botanic lifeforms like spices,
herbs, climbers, ginger, citruses and ..............................................................................................
fruit trees.
In its 16 years of research and Butiran penduduk:
study, special focus was also given to
species that were used by aboriginal Nama: ..................................................................................
communities in their daily lives.
Those species that have proven to Alamat: .................................................................................
be beneficial were collected from
Kelantan, Kedah, Pahang, Perlis and ..............................................................................................
Perak by the aboriginal people them-
selves. The plants were later trans- ..............................................................................................
ferred to the botanical garden
grounds for nurturing and study. Nombor telefon bimbit/kediaman: ........................................
Today, the research carried out
over the years has proven to be in- Nombor telefon yang boleh dihubungi: ................................
valuable in terms of knowledge and
awareness of the growth patterns and Climber plants and the landscaped garden offer a rustic setting. ..............................................................................................
ecological behaviour of the medici-
nal and aromatic plants. the green lungs that exist now. Tarikh meninggalkan rumah: ................................................
The botanical garden is one of the few pristine With the passage of years, developers, residents,
controlled environments where people, plants and botanists and environmentalists will have to help one Tarikh dijangka balik ke rumah: ...........................................
trees co-exist in perfect harmony as Mother Nature another to preserve places like the Frim botanical
originally intended it to be. garden. Kenderaan yang ditinggalkan (jenis model & nombor daftar
There will come a time in society’s march to the There are other gardens elsewhere in Selangor at kenderaan).
drumbeat of progress when secondary forests become present, and hopefully there will be new gardens to be
a rarity and gardens will shrink in size. cultivated in the future. But whatever the outcome, it 1. ..........................................................................................
But over at Frim, especially the botanical garden, is the responsibility of the relevant authorities and
the objective remains the same: to promote the im- concerned citizens to ensure that we do not lose sight 2. ..........................................................................................
portance of nature, our living environment, and how of the paramount importance of Mother Nature in all
future generations will reap the benefits of caring for our lives. 3. ..........................................................................................

Lain-lain maklumat:

..............................................................................................

............................................... .......................................
Tandatangan Tarikh

Have you checked

your electrical
switches before
leaving home?
Before leaving your home for a holoday, have you
checked all your electrical switches and turned off
your gas tanks?

Call the SS17 Bomba for advise at

The lush greenery is testament to the great efforts of the caretakers. 03-5634 9444
20
TECHNOLOGY
MAY 13 — 15, 2011
Is this your Streak?
Dubbed a mini tablet, Dell has launched its latest
five-inch smartphone-cum-tablet computer
By Edwin Yapp
A
s tablet computers ramp up in popularity, one
vendor has chosen to brave a new world by
launching something smaller than the standard
seven- or 10-inch tablets.
Dubbed the Dell Streak, the five-inch device was
launched by Dell in association with its partner, Dynam-
ics Distribution, and is the latest to be launched on our
shores.
Speaking at the event last month, Varinderjit Singh,
managing director, CSMB Malaysia and Singapore,
Dell, said the Streak 5 is designed for people who are
constantly interacting online and want to expand their
ability to access their digital lives on the go.
Varinderjit said Dell is banking on the Streak 5’s
portability as the appealing factor to what he called a
“mini tablet.”
“We believe we have a product that is well-positioned
to have a good reach into the market,” Varinderjit said at
the launch. “Five inches is the right size as it’s the perfect
spot for phone and a tablet device.”
Varinderjit noted that the spacious five-inch screen is
ideal for an optimised web-browsing experience with less
squinting and pinching.
Users, he added, can play games, watch high-definition
videos, e-mail, send instant messaging, listen to music, update
their social networking status and, not forgetting, make calls.
Powered by Google’s Android operating system, the Dell
Streak 5 also comes with Dell’s new user interface called Stage,
which provides users with instant access to their favourite
content.
Specifications
The Dell Streak 5 weighs in at 220g and measures 153 x 79
x 10 mm. It runs on Android’s 2.2 platform and has a WVGA
screen resolution of 800 x 480. The screen also supports a
capacitive multitouch feature and comes equipped with
scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass.
Complementing this is a 5MP auto-focus camera with dual
LED flash for still photo/video capture, front-facing VGA
New takaful products through
Hong Leong partnership
By Basil Foo
KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Financial Group
(HLFG) is looking to offer new Islamic insurance products
mid-2011 following a partnership expansion with Mitsui
Sumitomo Insurance (MSI).
It was announced during a press conference on Wednes-
day that MSI had acquired a 35% stake in Hong Leong’s
takaful unit for RM33.64 million.
With this expanded partnership, Hong Leong and MSI
are now common strategic partners in all their Malaysian
insurance businesses – life, general, and takaful.
“It is through the partnership with a global insurance
player like MSI that we believe will provide us a competitive
edge to offer more compelling products and services,” said
Raymond Choong.
The HLFG president and chief executive officer told
reporters that their Islamic insurance arm has adopted a
new name, Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Bhd.
He also expressed optimism with the Malaysian takaful
industry, which recorded a compound average growth rate
of 27% in net contributions between 2005 and last year.
“The synergistic activities, training and product devel-
opment are in place, and we are looking forward to roll
out a series of compelling products from July,” said Loh
Dell Streak 5
webcam for video calls, built-n Wi-Fi, 3G HSUPA and
Bluetooth connectivity. It easily integrates with social media
apps such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and also has
an integrated Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation and
street and satellite views.
The Streak 5 is powered by a Snapdragon mobile processor,
which makes multitasking easy, and allows users to talk on the
phone and browse the web at the same time, or listen to music
while using the Google Navigation app.
It sports a 2GB internal memory, as well as a micro SD ex-
pandable memory of up to 32GB.
Guat Lan.
The chief executive officer of Hong
Leong Assurance (HLA), the life in-
surance arm of HLFG, said they would
be focusing on three core areas through
this partnership.
“The spotlight will be on modernis-
ing our distribution channels, increas-
ing innovation of insurance solutions,
and rolling out a series of training
programmes for our agents,” said Loh.
HLFG entered into a strategic alli-
ance with MSI after the latter acquired
30% in HLA for RM940 million last
June to expand into Malaysia’s life
insurance business.
HLA has since achieved its initial
goals with new business annualised
premium growth tripling from RM81 Choong (second left) shaking hands with Masaaki after fixing the takaful
million in 2007 to RM245 million puzzle piece. Looking on are Loh (left) and Chua.
last year.
“Our partnership with Hong Leong, in both the gen- they saw Malaysia as an important market, and takaful is
eral and life insurance businesses, has progressed very well,” the final piece of their insurance ventures outside Japan.
said Masaaki Nishikata.
The MSI director and managing executive officer said stone as it marked their first foray into Islamic insurance.
The Streak is available at a suggested retail price of RM2,099.
Impressions
My brief experience with the Streak 5 during the launch
was fairly pleasant. While preferring a seven-inch tablet, I
could see that a five-inch one can be appealing if you want
to browse the web. The current crop of smartphones maxes
out at 4.3 inches.
To fully accept the concept of a mini-tablet, you’ll still
have to tell your mind that it’s a cross between a small tablet
and a large smartphone. If you’re able to accept an all-in-one
device that is designed to give you the best of both
worlds, then the Streak 5 may be for you.
The Streak 5 is quite solid and well built.
I especially liked the fact that it comes
equipped with Corning scratch-resistant glass,
as that is not what you normally get on de-
vices like these.
Although I didn’t get to really put it to a real scratch
test, I could see that it was pretty solid and will be able to
handle the thrills and spills of everyday usage. An added point
is that you don’t have to put a film screen protector on your
device.
But the five-inch size and the Corning glass do kind of make
the device a tad heavier (220g) than regular smartphones. This
was what I found to be a drawback.
Apart from this, the user interface has the familiar feel of
the Android 2.2 software and is quick, easy and slick to use. I
can’t attest for battery life as I wasn’t really reviewing the unit,
but with normal business usage, it should provide you with
about a day’s worth of battery life, which is common for
smartphones.
So what’s the verdict?
The Streak 5 might appeal to a section of people who
wants a cross between a full-sized tablet and something
larger than your usual smartphone. This, I believe, will appeal
to a smaller segment of the market compared with the more
mainstream smartphones and tablets.
Still, it could be worth considering if you’re one in that
category, as there is currently no vendor in this market.
He added that the partnership was an important mile-
 MEDIA 21
MAY 13 — 15, 2011

Good response to
Centro Klang Run
SHAH ALAM: For the first time in
its three-year history, the Centro Klang
Run has received a very good response.
More than 2,500 runners have already
registered themselves for the event as
at May 3.
According to Joanne Teh, Centro’s
advertising and promotion senior ex-
ecutive, the run is one of Centro Mall’s
community projects that aims to pro-
mote a healthy lifestyle among the
people of Klang.
“With the overwhelming response
from Selangor and also participants
from as far as Johor and Terengganu, I
am sure that many people will enjoy the
run whether they are taking part for
fun or for health and fitness,” said Teh.
Organised by the Klang Pacers
Athletic Club (KPAC), this year’s
Centro Klang Run is themed “Klang
Historical Run”.
The route will be passing through
several historical places like Little In-
dia, the Klang museum, railway sta-
tion, stadium and power station, and
many more.
Despite the fun nature of the run,
KPAC president John Heng said the
safety of the participants will be their
top priority.
As such, there will be sufficient
drinking stations for the runners, and
Rela and police traffic personnel will
also be on standby at designated areas
of high traffic.
As for the distribution of goodies bag
and finishing medals, this year there will
be more experienced people on standby
to ensure that every runner is given the
items accordingly.
For further enquiries, contact Cen-
tro Mall’s customer ser vice at 03-
33433011 (10am-10pm) or Heng at
012-3233777. Heng and Teh.

RM100,000 up for grabs in Fundraiser held

pasta contest for orphanages,
SHAH ALAM: Fancy mixing pasta with the chance
to win RM100,000 in cash? San Remo, Malaysia’s
shelter homes
leading pasta brand, is offering you the chance to do
just that with its latest Pasta-Ria Contest.
To be in the running, contestants simply need to
rank their top 10 pasta moments from the 12 mo-
ments provided on the entry form and complete the
slogan “My family loves San Remo because…” in 10
words or less.
Contestants are allowed to mail in as many entry
forms as they want during the contest period, which
runs from May 15 to July 15, 2011, as long as each
form comes with an empty San Remo dry pasta pack
as proof of purchase.
Entry forms are available at www.gbaglobal.com.
On top of the grand prize, other exciting prizes up
for grabs include a Noritake dinnerware set worth
RM3,000; a Tefal cookware set valued at RM2,000;
and three Tupperware sets worth RM1,000 each. SHAH ALAM: KPJ Selangor Convention Centre, saw a cheque
The consolation prizes are also not to be missed: a Specialist Hospital and the Or- for RM50,000 being handed over
total of 10 hampers, each containing RM300 worth phans Welfare Darul Ehsan Malay- to the Sungai Manggis Orphanage
of San Remo products along with a pasta pot. San Remo is the largest dry pasta manufacturer and sia (PYAKDEM) recently held a under PKAYDEM’s management.
“Whether it is watching TV with a yummy bowl leading pasta company in Australia. fundraising dinner to raise funds Roslan said the event created
of pasta in your hands or sharing a delicious pasta meal for orphanages and shelter homes. rapport between staff and the com-
during a family occasion, we all have our special mo- The event on May 6 created munity.
ments when enjoying our pasta meals. awareness and instilled responsibil- “This event is an opportunity
“We wanted to strike a chord among pasta lovers ity in the public towards giving to for both KPJ Selangor Specialist
nationwide through this contest that allows them to the less fortunate, said organisers. Hospital staff and the public to get
rank their favourite pasta moments,” said Mohan “I hope this event will be re- to know one another,” said Roslan.
Alagappar, GBA Corporation Sdn Bhd general peated next year. It has contributed KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospi-
manager. towards caring for those in need tal is a private hospital offering
Pasta meals are a staple comfort food for and has brought all walks of life comprehensive medical care under
families, treasured by gastronomes, recom- together for the noble cause,” said its One Stop Health Care Centre.
mended by nutritionists and popular all over the KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital It has 167 beds offered in choic-
world. San Remo offers two wholesome types of executive director Roslan Ahmad. es of one, two or four beds to a
dry pasta, long and short, plus lasagna. The dinner, which was attended room, as well as a VIP ward which
Established in 1936 by Louis Crotti in Australia, by some 500 guests at Shah Alam has a butler service.

Earth Day at Mines Wellness

SERI KEMBANGAN: In
conjunction with Earth Day last
month, the Mines Wellness Hotel
celebrated the occasion with the
children of Tadika Dragonfly in a
fun-filled day of exciting activities
on April 28.
“As part of our corporate social
responsibility under Mines Green
Circle, the main objective of the
event is to educate young children
on the importance of preserving
nature, and to show them what
Children making artwork out of eco-friendly items.
they can do at home to play their
part in contributing to the sustain-
ability of our Earth,” said Mines
Wellness Hotel resident manager
Eusebius Sam.
Upon arrival, the children were
treated to light refreshments at the
Sunset Lounge and were shown a
video presentation on recycling
and protecting the environment.
Following the welcome speech
by Sam, the children were ushered
to the Organic Garden to plant
vegetable seeds.
“By showing them how to seed
plants, we hope to inspire aware-
ness and appreciation for the
Earth’s environment, and hope-
fully nurture a habit of things they
can plant at home,” said Sam.
After learning how to plant
seeds, the children had their crea-
tivity challenged when they had to
use items such as leaves, stones,
rocks and used paper to create
eco-friendly artwork.
22
Gallery
May 13 — 15, 2011

Batu Member of Parliament Tian Chua (right) in the Sentul market parking lot,
A free health check-up was provided during a carnival held in Sri Andalas, Klang last Sun- which allows shoppers to park for free while they do their marketing. The Parti
day. The event was organised by 14 young people after a three-month leadership stint, to Keadilan Rakyat information chief officially opened the parking lot provided by
raise funds to build a new community tuition centre in Port Klang. the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) last Sunday.

Rawang assemblyperson Gan Pei Nei cutting a cake with mothers during a Mother’s
Day event last Sunday, which also saw state-sponsored food items being donated to 50
needy families.

Sand painting was a

hit among children
during the carnival in
Sri Andalas, Klang,
last Sunday.

A child making
artwork out of
eco-friendly items
during an Earth
A volunteer teacher at a free tuition centre for underprivileged children in Subang. The Day event at Mines
centre in Subang Perdana Goodyear Court 2 has registered 40 pupils since its inception in Wellness Hotel on
February. April 28.

INTERVIEW
By Terence Toh
MONTREAL-based puppeteer
and street performer Jeff Achtem
has performed as his silent clown
character, Mr Bunk, in arts festivals,
variety theatres and cabarets
worldwide. His shows have
taken him to places as diverse as
Belgium, New Zealand, Spain and
Macedonia. The winner of many
prestigious theatre awards, Achtem
now brings his lauded shadow-
puppet piece Sticks, Stones,
Broken Bones to our shores. In
this email interview with Selangor
Times, Achtem talks about his
inspirations and experiences, and
teases us on what to expect from
his shows.
How did you first get involved
in this art?
I travelled for many years as
a street performer, learning
clowning and audience
improvisation techniques.
Over time, I developed a
greater interest in other areas
of theatrical performance, and
wanted to create material that
would be suited for an indoor
theatre audience.
Shadow puppetry is
particularly fascinating for me,
as it requires a study of many
artistic disciplines. There is the
puppet creation and knowledge
of materials, theatrical techniques
and clown performance, as
well as an understanding of
the electrical technology that
gives light to make sharp
shadows. Each area is a
fascinating challenge.
Your shows feature objects
and characters brought to
life through shadow. Of these
characters, which do you most
enjoy bringing to life, and
which tend to get the most
audience reaction?
There are 12 different characters
in Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones.
They each tell a short, simple
story or feature in an interaction
between several. Each story is
designed to appeal to a different
genre, so along the length of the
show, the audience experiences
a wide range of character
interactions.
Many people tell me that the
ninja scene is their favourite, but
I don’t want to give too much
away before the show! All the
Editor’s A wordless, shadow puppet comedy from
Montreal, Canada. Monkeys in the jungle, UFO
Pick abductions, brain transplants and flying ninjas
Sticks, Stones, … don’t miss Jeff Achtem’s amazingly playful
vision of wonder and nonsense as he transforms
Broken Bones bits of junk into surreal shadow puppets. The
Theatre; May 10-15; audience is invited to witness the making of
PJ Live Arts @ Jaya these amazing puppet melodramas.
One; RM60;
Winner for Best Puppetry in the Adelaide
03-79600439; Fringe Festival 2011 and Spirit of the Fringe
www.pjla.com.my
and Best Newcomer in the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival 2010. Suitable for all ages. Presented by
Gardner & Wife Theatre.
shadow puppets are created from performance. At the Melbourne
bits of rubbish and garbage, and Comedy festival last year, a sign-
the puppetry is performed in front language interpreter came to assist
of the screen. So the audience has during one performance, and she
a special view of how each of the ended up just sitting on the chair!
visuals is created.  Theatre; May 5-22; PJ Live Arts & Jaya One; RM44-77; 03-79600439,
What would you say to anyone
How challenging is it to perform interested in pursuing this art?
to an audience that comprises Whether you are interested in
mostly children? acting, filmmaking, animation,
Actually, in performing the show in puppetry or another creative pursuit
many countries, we have found that that involves interaction between
there is actually a wide range of the presenter and the public, the
ages that come to the performance. main challenge is to create a strong
We were at the Edinburgh festival relationship. The audience needs
for a month last year, and in each to feel like they are connecting with
audience of 120 people, there were the story being told, and invited
about 20 kids. So the show has a to take part in a world of fantasy.  A History of Falling Things
wide appeal for adults as well, and You need to create a world, and
we like to make sure that adults make them happy to leap into the
without children feel welcome to unknown with you.
come and enjoy a puppet show. 
For me, the ideal audience is a Finally, what can audiences
wide mix of ages, old and young.  expect from Sticks, Stones,
Since there is very little dialogue Broken Bones?
in the show, it’s important to point Memorable puppets, flying ninja
out that you don’t even really dreams, and a new view on rubbish
need to speak English to enjoy the around the house!
Culture 23 May 13 — 15, 2011
Compiled by Nick Choo
CALENDAR
Cabaret
Musical; May 6-15; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; RM125/
RM105/RM85; 03-4047900; www.klpac.org
The iconic musical created by John Kander and Fred Ebb, which
revolves around the seedy happenings of the Kit Kat Klub and its
regulars. Set amidst the political and social upheaval of pre-Nazi
Germany – indulge yourself in the unbridled sensuality of the club,
revel among its morally ambiguous inhabitants, and plunge into its
glitz and glamour. Featuring, among others, Stephanie Van Driesen,
Peter Ong, Peter Davis, Trudy Ganendra, Alizakri Alias and Aaron
Khaled; directed by Nell Ng, with musical direction by Nish Tham.
Produced by Pan Productions.
The Moon Speaks For My Heart:
Teresa Teng, Her Life, Her Songs
Musical; May 19-29; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; RM60-
RM255; 03-62019107/62019108, email: dama@damaorchestra.com;
www.damaorchestra.com
Dama Orchestra’s latest concert is a tribute to the legendary Teresa
Teng. Savour the sweet melodious music and songs that made Teng
a truly international icon. Featuring Tan Soo Suan, Evelyn Toh, and
Chang Fang Chyi, with narration in English by Sam Tseu.
The List Operators For Kids:
More Fun Than A Wii!
www.pjla.com.
Australians Matt Kelly and Richard Higgins, veterans of children’s
theatre, devised and first performed this show in September 2009.
It has received a prestigious Barry Nomination for Best Show at the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival, played to thousands of
children in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney, and received
multiple five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “For
anyone aged five to 500 million (dinosaur allowed).” Presented by
Gardner & Wife Theatre.
Theatre; May 19-22; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; RM13/
RM23; 03-4047900; www.klpac.org
A phobia-filled comedic love story written by British playwright
James Graham. This 21st-century love story is themed around
the fear of falling satellites, known as keraunothnetophobia, where
phobic cyberspace lovebirds, Jacqui and Robin, communicate solely
via webcam. Their neurosis keeps them indoors, but they foster their
adoration on the net. The biggest question remains – will the thing
that brought them together be the thing that keeps them apart?
Directed by Christopher Ling, presented by the Theatre For Young
People (T4YP) Ensemble 2011.
After Waking
Theatre; May 12-15; MAP KL @ Solaris Dutamas; RM20/RM10; 03
6207 9732
A physical theatre piece inspired by the makyung epic Dewa Muda.
“A young man is haunted by the dream of a woman and the journey
that takes him into the sky to find her. A physical theatre piece
fusing Malaysian and American traditions … a play about flight, fate
and what happens when we get what we want.” Presented by the
reTheatre Company.
Land of Gods & Shadows
Exhibition; May 9-29; Pentas 2 Foyer, KLPac; 03-7958 2175, email:
stag@tm.net.my; www.shaliniganendra.com
Pictures by photojournalist Rahman Roslan, taken during frequent
visits to Bali in 2010. “As a frequent stranger to this land, Bali offers
many surprises. On my second visit, I was able, due to familiarity,
to capture images, people met, and landscapes touched, and the
feeling of the breeze. What I see has more meaning now and grows
from the image, because from the visual I explore the multiple
layers beneath. Sometimes a beautiful marriage occurs between
the ancient and contemporary, or the obvious and the subtle. These
relationships, shadows, and realisation brought the mesmerising
energy for this series.” Presented by Shalini Ganendra’s Fine Art.
Published by Selangor State Government and printed by Dasar Cetak (M) Sdn Bhd No. 7, Persiaran Selangor, Seksyen 15, 40000, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.